Finding Home
by The Lonely Geek
Summary: Peter didn't die from the snap. Left without a guardian, Peter is taken in by Tony and Pepper who adopt him in the aftermath of the snap. Life is difficult and Peter is struggling to live with the guilt of surviving. Set in the years between Infinity War and Endgame if Peter had survived the snap, will have events of FFH and the aftermath of it.
1. Chapter 1

_**I've been meaning to write a longer Avengers fic for a while and since Endgame I've been inspired to write this. It'll follow on from the events of Infinity War and show the years between Infinity War and Endgame and then continue with the events of Far From Home and maybe after that as well. I'm not sure at the moment how often I'll be able to update, but I'm on summer holiday soon, so hopefully once a fortnight. I hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think.**_

_**Finding Home**_

_**Chapter 1**_

"When I drift off, I will think about you," Peter frowned, peering round to where Mr Stark was sitting, talking to his helmet.

"Drift off?" He asked, not able to help himself from interrupting Tony's recording. "But sir, I thought you said there would be enough oxygen to get us back to earth." Tony sighed, slightly irritated that Peter had been eavesdropping on him. He wished that he had been able to protect him from the truth until the end. He hadn't wanted the kid to be scared so he had lied. In hopes that they may be rescued.

"Sorry kid," Tony stood up, rubbing his eye, sighing. "I wanted to protect you."

"We're not making it back to earth are we?" Peter asked, walking over to his mentor. "Sir?"

"I'm sorry Pete," Tony walked over to him. "I was hoping we'd be rescued... it's not looking likely. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Peter shrugged. "I figured our chances were slim anyway," He told Tony. "I knew the dangers when I got on the ship with your and Dr Strange."

"I should've never let you come with me," Tony put his arm round Peter's back, slightly awkwardly, unsure of what more he could say. They were both going to die and there was nothing he could do to save them. This was exactly what he had been afraid of, being in a situation where they would be die. He wasn't bothered about him dying. He had had a good life. Pete though. He was just a kid. He shouldn't have even been off Earth. If only the kid had stayed on the bus.

"Can I use that?" Peter asked, nodding to the helmet which was still recording. "Once your done. For Aunt May and Ned."

"Use it now," Tony gestured to the helmet. "I'll do my message later."

"You sure sir?" Peter asked.

"Of course kid," Tony nodded, walking away. "I'll give you some space."

* * *

"Get the kid," Tony whispered, waving his hand towards where Peter was lying, unconscious, next to Tony. "Steve get him." Steve nodded.

"Natasha get in here," Steve yelled, bending down to lift up Peter and carrying him over his shoulder fireman style. He carried him out as Natasha helped Tony off the ship.

"Is he okay?" Tony asked, anxiously, leaning over Peter's frail body. He fumbled and found Peter's wrist and heaved a sigh of relief as he felt a weak pulse.

"Tony!" Tony turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Tony thank goodness."

"Pepper," Tony stood up and found her arms around him and his arms around her. Tony sighed with relief again. He knew that there had been a fifty percent chance of her dying. He didn't know what he would've done if she hadn't survived.

* * *

"Mr Stark?" Tony turned his head to Peter. They had just returned from defeating Thanos. "Would you mind dropping me off? I ju-"

"It's no problem kid," Tony told him, holding him close. "Do you know if she's..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. He hoped not. Peter had been through enough already, he didn't deserve his aunt also dying. It was a possibility though. A very real one. Peter shook his head, he hadn't wanted to consider the possibility that his aunt was gone. "I'll come with you."

"You don't need t-" Peter began but Tony held his finger up and interrupted him.

"Of course I do kid," Tony told him. "Until I know that you're safe, you're my responsibility."

"Thank you Mr Stark," Peter said as Tony lead him to his car and Tony opened the door for him.

"Traffic might be bad because of..." Tony trailed off, not wanting to mention the snap. "Everything going on, so you better not need the toilet," Tony said. Once he knew Peter was alright he and Pepper were going to be in meetings all day. Everything was chaos at the moment and they needed to decide what to do in the aftermath of everything.

* * *

"Hey kid," Tony caught Peter's eye before they got out of the car once they were outside Peter's home in Queens.

"Yes Mr Stark?" Peter asked, undoing his seatbelt.

"If... the worst has happened... you don't need to worry about where you're gonna stay. We'll sort something out. I'm not going to let you go to one of these mass orphanages they're organising."

"I figured if... I'd just live on my own," Peter told him.

"You're a kid," Tony replied, putting his hand round Peter's shoulder comfortingly. "You're not living on your own."

"I'm an avenger though," Peter argued. He didn't want to trouble Mr Stark with finding somewhere for him to stay. "Besides, Aunt May is probably in the apartment worrying about me."

"I hope so kid," Tony sighed, getting out of the car. He watched Peter walk ahead of him anxiously. He really hoped for the kid's sake that his aunt wasn't dead.

"May?" Peter asked nervously, stepping slowly into the apartment, hoping that a familiar voice would reply. "May?" He called again, louder this time. Tony's heart sank as they wondered into the kitchen where a weird smell was coming from.

"What the-" Tony rushed to the steaming oven and switched it off, coughing at the black smoke. He pulled the baking sheet out of the oven with a tea towel from the side and shoved it in the sink before turning the tap on to get it to cool down. Peter stared at the shrivelled up charred mess in the sink, tears welling up in his eyes.

"She must've been... cooking her walnut date loaf when..." Peter trailed off, knowing that his aunt had been part of the half of the planet that had died during the snap.

"I'm sorry kid," Tony stepped towards him, unsure of how to comfort him. He wrapped his arms around the kid and pulled him into the chest as Peter began to sob. "I'm sorry." After a moment, Peter pulled away, wiping back the tears.

"I always knew it was a possibility," He replied, walking out of the kitchen. "I should get some of my stuff if you won't let me stay here." He walked into his bedroom, sighing. He had only been in here with Ned a week ago building Lego together. Everything had changed so much. He wished he could go back. He hadn't known how lucky he had been then. He sat on the edge of the bed, tears falling once more. Tony took a seat next to him, wrapping his arm around the kid, wishing there was something, anything, he could do to comfort him. He knew there was nothing.

"We could always come back another time," Tony suggested, knowing how hard this was on Peter. He didn't know what he would've done if Pepper had been one of the ones to die. "I'm sure we can find clothes for you elsewhere for the short term."

* * *

"Natasha," Tony walked into the avengers compound, Peter trailing behind us. "Natasha?"

"What is it?" She asked, opening the door and coming in.

"I set Peter up with a room next to..." He trailed off. He had been going to say Vision, but he like so many others now, was dead. "A while ago. Never changed it. Can you show him where to go and settle him in for me? Pepper and have meetings and we need to get going." Natasha nodded, realising that whoever he had been living with had been killed in the snap.

"This way," She said. She didn't need Tony to tell her who's bedroom he had put Peter next to. It was common knowledge among the avengers that Tony had set up a room next to Vision a while ago and then never let anyone turn it back to the spare bedroom that it had been previously. He had said that the kid might change his mind. She strode back out of the door, gesturing for Peter to follow her.

"I'll try to get back by this evening kid," Tony told him and Peter nodded numbly. He used to think it was really cool to be shown around the avengers compound by the one and only Black Widow but now... he just wanted his aunt back. Natasha was silent as she led him, passing the bedrooms that were now vacant.

"You're not next to anyone," She told him quietly. She didn't say why, but she didn't need to. Peter knew that they were dead. "If there's anything that you want in your room that isn't there, just tell Tony." Peter nodded, unsure of what to say. "Lunch is in an hour." She informed him. "Take the time to get settled in."

"Thanks," He replied. He had gone to space with this woman and the rest of the avengers, he hadn't got the chance to talk to any of them apart from Tony.

* * *

"Welcome to the team Peter," Steve said entering the dining area.

"Thanks," Peter murmured, taking a seat. The room was silent as they ate and looking around Peter could tell that there were a lot of empty seats. He could feel the tension in the air. "You know I had to watch videos with you in at school?" He said, looking up at Steve who looked confused.

"I remember those," Steve smirked at the memory. "I sounded like I complete idiot."

"What's this?" Natasha asked with interest.

"I had to film videos to be shown at school for a propaganda drive," Steve explained. "But it was the cheesiest, dumbest thing in existence."

"The detention one was the worst," Peter told him.

"Shouldn't have got detention," Natasha shrugged. For a moment they could almost forget that half the universe was dead. It was just old friends joking around a table.

"I walked out partway through," Peter admitted and Rhodey snorted, remembering his own high school days. There was a pause in the conversation as they all dug into their plates of food. They looked up as the TV flashed on with breaking news.

"The world governments have announced that they are putting death rate at about 55% after the attack from an alien who has been named Thanos. The initial attack wiped out 50% of the population, but the aftermath has killed an estimated 5% more of the population," Steve sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Could have been worse," Bruce said eventually. Steve picked up the TV remote and flicked the TV off.

"There was reports of looting earlier today so I was planning on going out to see if there was anything I could to help," Steve announced. "A couple of you should stay here in case something happens."


	2. Chapter 2

_**I'm not sure how long it will be before the next update because I'm off school which does mean that I can spend all day writing fanfiction, but I am writing a few at the moment and I won't get any writing down for over a week soon because I'm going LFCC at the weekend and I'm going camping for a week after that. I will try to get it out as soon as possible though. I hope that you enjoy and please let me know what you think.**_

"I don't believe you paid for that," Peter shot a web at a guy carrying a large cardboard containing a TV. He swooped forwards to grab the box that fell from the guy's hands to ensure that it didn't break. Peter ducked to avoid being kicked by the robber and he put the TV safely down before shooting another burst of webs at the man's feet so he only had one hand free.

"The guy who owned this place is dead," He shrugged. "It doesn't matter." Peter sighed. This man wasn't the only one to follow this philosophy. A couple of weeks had passed since half of the universe had been wiped out and looting was common. What was left of the avengers had been trying to maintain peace whilst governments around the world tried to regain order. Everything was still in chaos. Wakanda had no leader, with both T'Challa and Shuri both dead, though Okoye had taken charge temporarily and was offering refuge for any children orphaned. Even Wakanda had limited resources to help.

Clint, as the other avengers called him, though Peter still found it strange to use first names talking to the other avengers, in his head he still referred to them with their superhero names, had gone AWOL. Natasha had been wanting to track him down but Steve had persuaded her to wait until things had calmed down a bit. Tony was away for days at a time, tied up with meetings. Peter was just doing what he could. He couldn't help but feel a little out of his depth though. He had come a long way since starting out as a friendly neighbourhood spiderman.

"Still isn't yours to take," Peter told him. There was no point in calling the police about the crime. They were swept off their feet at the moment. All Peter could really do was web him up for a few hours and take him some place inconvenient to try and deter him from doing it again. "And if I catch you again, I'll use taser webs." He began shooting webs thick and fast before lifting him and beginning to swing across the city. He found a quiet place and put him down.

"Mmfph-" The man grumbled, unable to talk with web around his mouth.

"Five hours 'til it wears off," Peter told him, before swinging off to return to the avengers tower for his next mission. The quickest way from where he was involved going by his old apartment, but he wasn't ready for that so he detoured, taking a much longer way back.

"All sorted?" Tony asked, standing by the door not long after Peter had arrived back. Peter nodded.

"Maybe that'll stop him doing it again. I doubt it though,"

"I know," Tony nodded. Five hours wasn't a deterrent, but they didn't have any alternatives. With all the chaos, the prisons and police could only do so much to stop criminals. Any non-violent crimes were going unpunished. Prisons were overrun and some prisoners that had been in there during the snap, had managed to escape, with their wardens having died. Tony doubted that most of them would end up never being caught. He paused, looking across at Peter. "I noticed that you went a longer way coming back." He had to be delicate. Peter was still mourning his aunt and his school friends. Since returning to Earth, Peter had discovered that both Ned and MJ had died.

"I needed some air," Peter shrugged, though they both knew the real reason. Tony sighed and stepped into Peter's room, putting his arm around the kid.

"Pepper and I are going away for the weekend," He told him. "We've been run off our feet and need a quiet weekend away. We've got a little house by a lake a few hours away that we've not visited in a while. You're welcome to join us if you want." Peter looked uncertain. He didn't want to disturb Mr Stark's quiet weekend, but it did sound good. "You've been working hard too and deserve a break."

"It's very kind of you Mr Stark," Peter said, deciding that he would take him up on the offer. "Thank you. I won't be any bother. I know you and Pepper want time alone."

"I'm so sorry," Peter quickly turned his back and left the bathroom seeing Pepper there. It was Saturday afternoon. They had spent the previous afternoon travelling to Mr Stark's house and Peter had spent the morning swimming in the lake, enjoying the serenity that being away from the city had bought.

"It's okay," Pepper whispered, gazing at something in her hand. "I forgot to lock the door and I was done anyway." She turned to face him and Peter could see her eyes swimming with tears. He was unsure of what to do. He still hadn't really spoken to Pepper. The car journey the previous day had mainly been in silence.

"Would you like me to get Mr Stark?" He offered, thinking he might be able to comfort her. Pepper shook her head, closing her eyes.

"I was just..." She held out the item in her hand to show him. It was a pregnancy test. "Before Stephen came to get Tony... before everything. Tony told me that he had had a dream. I was pregnant and we had a child that we named after my Uncle Morgan." Peter looked down at the pregnancy test and saw that it showed positive. "I thought it was nothing, though Tony insisted that he thought it meant that I was pregnant."

"Congratulations," Peter said, unsure of what else to say. He didn't understand why Pepper seemed so upset though.

"Pepper?" Tony walked past the door and poked his head round, confused at why the two of them were in the bathroom at the same time. He came over to her and kissed the top of her head gently, not seeing the pregnancy test in her hands.

"Tony, you were right," She said, smiling despite the tears threatening to fall.

"I'm right about a lot of things," Tony smiled, putting an arm around her and finally seeing the test in her arms. His eyes widened. "You know we're calling the baby Morgan." He told her, smirking slightly.

"I really hate you sometimes," A salty tear slipped down her cheek.

"Hey," Tony used a thumb to wipe it away. "What's wrong?"

"How are we going to do this?" Pepper asked, slipping out of his arms and looking him in the eye. Peter looked between them and realised that they probably wanted some alone time so he slipped out of the room and went to use the downstairs toilet instead. "Half the universe is dead. All kind of order has collapsed. How are we supposed to have a baby now? Hospitals are overrun from the causalities caused by everything happening."

"You're forgetting one thing," Tony smiled, cupping Pepper's head in his hand and stroking her cheek softly. "We're billionaires. We can find someone to do check ups and deliver this baby. We have nine months to plan everything. You worry too much."

"And you don't worry enough," Pepper took Tony's hands and squeezed them gently. She was already petrified. What if there was another alien attack? Tony had barely survived the last one. The fact that neither of them had died when Thanos killed half the universe was a miracle in itself.

"This is our second chance Pepper," Tony kissed Pepper's hands. "I can give up iron man. We can have the life you want – the one that you deserve. I want to be around for our baby. It will need both its parents in the world it's going to grow up in."

"You'll give up your suits?" Pepper asked, amazed. She had been trying to get him to do it for years.

"I swear I'll be around to raise our child," Tony told her. "My dad was never around for me. I'm not making the same mistakes that he did."

"I know," Pepper smiled, putting the pregnancy test down on the side. Tony wrapped his arms around her, drunk on happiness.

"You're going to make an amazing mum," Tony put his hands on her stomach, love in his eyes.

"You know you're already an amazing dad," Pepper told her. "Peter looks up to you so much."

"I don't even know what I'm doing with him," Tony admitted. "When I recruited him for Germany, I thought I'd never really see him after that, but..."

"He wormed his way into your heart," Pepper smirked. "He admires you so much. You see it whenever you're in the same room."

"Really?" Tony asked and Pepper nodded.

"Anyone can see it," She laughed. "And since... you're all he has now."

"I know," Tony sighed. They had come away for the weekend to escape everything, but no one really could escape everything. The horrors of half the world dying would fade with time, but for now, it was still in everyone's minds. "I just wish there was all I could do for him... for everyone."

"You may be the great Tony Stark," Pepper smiled sadly. "But you are only human."

"That doesn't stop the guilt," Tony told her, taking her hand as they walked from the bathroom.

A month after Pepper discovered that she was pregnant, Peter was sitting in his bedroom doing his maths homework. Things were starting to return to normalcy. Mr Stark had told him that he had to return to school and at least graduate, but he spent most of his evenings on patrol. The avengers compound still felt empty to him. The US government had pardoned Steve and the rest of the avenger fugitives, but they were often away on missions. Tony came to visit every few days, but he and Pepper had decided to move to their house by the lake. They didn't want to bring their child up near the city and they wanted to get everything prepared well in advance.

Peter still hadn't come to terms with everything that had happened. He still couldn't really accept it. He hadn't been back to his old apartment since Mr Stark had driven him over a month before. He couldn't bring himself to go back. School was tough too. All his friends were gone. The corridors felt empty. He even missed Flash's merciless teasing. He tapped his pen in frustration at the question he was stuck on. What was the point in doing homework? Half the universe was dead. He picked up his phone to use the calculator on it, but accidentally pressed the camera icon instead. In the corner of the screen was the last photo he took. It was from before the snap. Shakily he clicked on it.

It was a selfie of him and Aunt May having a movie night together. Then it hit him.

He would never see her again. He would never eat her disgusting walnut date loaf again. He would never see the look of disapproval when he came back late from patrolling again.

And it broke him. He shoved his schoolbooks off his desk, letting them clatter to the ground. He switched his phone off and threw it as hard as he could. It smashed against the wall and fell to the ground, the screen shattered. Peter didn't care though. The grief finally hit him. They were all really gone. Aunt May. Ned. MJ. He would never spend another evening building Lego Star Wars with Ned. He would never spend another lunch with MJ telling him and Ned how dorky they were. They were gone and never coming back.

Something in Peter snapped.

Tears ran down his cheeks and he suddenly felt trapped. He couldn't breathe. He was drowning and he couldn't find the way to the surface. Stumbling from his room, he made his way to the roof, where he sat, gazing across the city. He gasped for air, not bothering to wipe the tears covering his cheeks. He felt a tight knot in his chest, twisting tighter whenever he thought of one of his dead friends. He had failed them. It was his fault that they were gone.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Pete, there's activity on the police servers," Ned told Peter through his phone as he tapped away at his computer whilst his best friend swung through the city. "Apparently there's an armed robbery going around a couple of blocks from you."_

"_Sounds good," Peter, stopped swinging. "Karen can you give me directions."_

"_Of course Mr Parker," The AI in his suit replied immediately. "According to the calls going to the police there are 5, all armed." _

"_Thanks," Peter said, following the directions that Karen gave. "Hey, threatening people with guns isn't cool." He said, swinging into the shop that was being robbed. He quickly shot webs at the guns of the first two robbers so that they spun out of their hands. He somersaulted through the air and kicked the guns away, shooting the remaining guns away. One of them tried to approach Peter and punch him, but he ducked easily, grabbing the man's arm and twisting it before webbing him to the ground._

"_Ugh," The man grunted, wincing as the webs came one after the other. _

"_Spider-man!" Someone cheered as Peter webbed up the other robbers, attaching them to the walls to make sure they couldn't escape._

"_You're welcome," Peter waved at the shoppers and owner. "Police should be on their way, and they won't be escaping anytime soon."_

"_Good job Peter," Karen told Peter as he made his way to Ned's house._

"_That was awesome," Ned opened his window, letting his best friend in. "I was watching from the camera in your suit. The way you just shot the guns from their hands."_

"_Thanks," Peter jumped into Ned's room, pulling off the hood from his suit. Not even needing to look down at their hands to do their handshake._

The memory of the last time he went on patrol with Ned helping, only made the tears fall faster down Peter's face. He would never do that handshake again. He would never hear Ned's voice helping him when he was on patrol. He would never see Ned's smile again. He swallowed heavily, trying to stop the tears. He didn't want any of the avengers to see him like this. They would think him weak. No one would find the great Steve Rogers crying on a rooftop. He stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes, sniffling slightly. It wouldn't be long until dinner. Not that there would be many people there. The only avenger not out on a mission of some sort was Dr Banner.

He went back to his room and splashed cold water on his eyes, hoping that it would cover the redness that came with the tears. He glanced up in the mirror and saw that his efforts hadn't worked well. He ran his hand through his unruly hair.

"Dr Banner has asked me to inform you that he is serving dinner," F.R.I.D.A.Y. said to Peter a few minutes later.

"Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y," Peter said, opening his door to go to dinner. "Tell him that I'm on my way."

"Of course Mr Parker," Peter rubbed his eyes wearily, hoping that Bruce wouldn't be talkative over dinner. He couldn't be bothered with small talk today. He still didn't really know most of the other avengers other than Mr Stark so it was pretty awkward at mealtimes.

"Sorry, I think I had the oven up too high," Bruce apologised, putting a plate of half burnt chips in front of Peter.

"It's fine," Peter replied blandly, picking up his fork and stabbing it without feeling.

"Do you want any sauce to go with it?" Bruce asked, opening a cupboard. "Ketchup, mayo?" Peter shook his head, taking a bite of chips.

"I'm good," He said after swallowing a mouthful. They ate in silence for a few minutes until F.R.I.D.A.Y made an announcement.

"Mr Stark has asked me to inform you that he has arrived on compound,"

"Where is he?" Peter asked softly, dropping his fork onto the half eaten plate.

"Mr Stark is making his way to the cafeteria," F.R.I.D.A.Y answered immediately. "He wishes to talk to you Mr Parker."

"Hey Bruce, Peter," Tony said, walking into the kitchen. He sniffed the air suspiciously. "Bruce did you burn dinner... again?" Bruce caught his eye, smiling slightly.

"I got distracted by some work in the lab," He admitted.

"I'll stick a pizza in for you kid," Tony told Peter. "You need to be eating more than chips for dinner. You know that you're supposed to eat more than regular people because of your fast metabolism and spidey-senses."

"Thanks," Peter smiled slightly as Tony took his plate and chucked the chips on it into the bin.

"Pepperoni good for you?" Tony asked, looking through the freezer. Peter nodded, scraping his chair back to stand up to get a drink. "After you've eaten we need to talk."

"Okay," Peter said, wondering what Tony needed to talk to him about.

"Well I need to get back to the lab," Bruce said, finishing his last forkful of burnt chips. "I've got something important that I'm working on."

"What's up Mr Stark?" Peter asked when Bruce had left the room. Tony switched the oven on and put the pizza in before turning around to answer the question.

"How are you doing kid?" He asked, sitting across from Peter, looking him in the eye. Peter opened his mouth to answer, but Tony continued. "Really?"

"I'm..." Peter trailed off, wanting to say 'alright' or 'okay' like he always did. Mr Stark would see straight through him though.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y informed me about earlier," Tony decided to jump straight to it.

"I..." Peter trailed off once more, his eyes filling with tears. "I came across of photo of Aunt May."

"I'm sorry Pete," Tony said, unsure of how to comfort the kid. He had virtually no experience when it came to teenagers. Especially not grieving teenagers.

"I miss her," Peter said as the first tear slipped down his cheek. "And my friends."

"I know kid," Tony stood up to grab a box of tissues to give to Peter. "If there's anything I can do-"

"Unless you can snap your fingers and bring everyone back..." Peter said, already knowing that it was impossible. The infinity stones were destroyed. No one had the power to bring those that Thanos killed in the snap back.

"Me and Pepper were thinking," Tony began, passing the tissues to Peter before sitting back down again. Peter plucked one carefully from the box to wipe the tears falling whilst Tony spoke again. "It might be easier for you to move out of the city – with me and Peps," Tony continued before quickly adding. "If you wanted to of course." He didn't want to overstep the line when it came to Peter. He had no idea how to deal with the kid. Legally, he had become Peter's guardian because Aunt May was gone and he was the logical person to take on the role. Peter had been staying with the rest of the avengers, not with Tony and Pepper though. Tony had no idea how Peter would take the idea of moving away from the city. Maybe a break from the city was exactly what the kid needed though.

"Live with you and Ms Potts?" Peter asked in surprise. He hadn't even considered that. He didn't want to intrude on Pepper and Mr Stark. They had moved out of the city for so that they would be able to bring their child up in peace. Away from public life. The snap had almost been a second chance for them. Mr Stark was out of the public eye now. Iron man was old news. They could start a family and live a normal life, well as normal as life could be when you were Tony Stark.

"If you want," Tony nodded. "We just thought it might be good for you to leave the city. There's so many... memories here." Peter nodded, thinking.

"I'd like that," He said, catching Tony's eye again before quickly adding. "If you don't mind that is – I don't want to intrude on you and Miss Potts. Especially with the baby coming and everything."

"It's fine kid," Tony reassured him, standing up walking over to Peter, ruffling his hair slightly. "We talked it over. Pepper's fine with it and I miss having you round." Before the snap, Peter had begun swinging by his tower after school to help him with stuff in the lab.

"I still need to go back to..." Peter trailed off. "To get my stuff and clear it out."

"If you're not ready to yet, it's not a problem," Tony tells him. "The government are wanting empty apartments to be redistributed, but I can easily influence the right people so we won't need to." Peter noted the way that Tony said 'we' rather than 'you'. "Or if you wanted I could swing by and sort some stuff out. I could bring all your stuff with me and the rest can go into storage." Peter nodded. He didn't mind Mr Stark going through his stuff. He wasn't ready to go back to the apartment yet, let alone sort through Aunt May's things and box it all up.

"Thank you Mr Stark,"

"That's not the only thing I need to speak to you about kid," Tony said. "Karen has always sent me weekly diagnostics on how you're doing – to make sure that you're fit and healthy to be going on patrol. Normally they're fine, sometimes you're a bit tired bur nothing to be concerned about." Peter bit his lip, knowing what was coming. "Your blood-sugar levels have been low – sometimes dangerously low. I'm also not happy with your level of fatigue."

"I haven't been able to sleep since..." Peter admitted. "And when I do I get nightmares." Tony sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"I know what it's like kid," He tells Peter. "After New York, when I took the nuke into space. The nightmares I got...I ended up staying up all night, surviving on caffeine and adrenaline. It wasn't healthy. Pepper helped me though. I can help you." Peter shrugged.

"I don't know if they'll ever go away," He told Tony. "I see-" He broke off, tears beginning to fall from his eyes once more. "May, Ned, MJ... everyone that..."

"Oh kid," Tony awkwardly pulled Peter into his chest, letting him sob into his crisp shirt. He didn't really know how to comfort Peter, but this seemed to be working so he stood, rubbing Peter's back until the sobbing subsided. "You need to start eating properly though." He told him when Peter let go of Tony. "I know it's been difficult, with different people being in here at different times. It should get easier when you come and live with me and Pepper. You need to have three proper meals a day. You're going to burn out if you continue." Peter nodded, knowing that Tony was right. Although he'd turned up at meals, but he had mainly been picking at food. It all just tasted of sawdust now.

* * *

**_I hope that you enjoyed and I would love to know what you think. I meant to update sooner, but I was on holiday for a week and then I was busy. I'm hoping to be able to start updating regularly now. Whilst it's the holidays, updates will probably be at least once a week._**


	4. Chapter 4

"You arrived fine then?" Pepper smiled, seeing Peter walk into the kitchen a few days later. Peter nodded, looking at the counter that Pepper was standing by. It was covered in flour and there was a large pile of dough. Pepper continued kneading it. "Pizza for dinner work for you?" She asked. "I was planning on doing garlic bread, onion rings and salad with it."

"Sounds great," Peter said gratefully. "Once I've got my stuff in my room, I can help if you want Ms Potts." Pepper smiled slightly, biting her lip.

"Actually," She said slowly, lifting her hand up, wiping the dough off it, revealing a gold band there. "Tony and I decided that with everything going on, we wouldn't make a big thing of it like we were planning. Just went to a registry office the other day and said our vows."

"Congratulations Mrs Stark," Peter smiled at her. "Mr Stark said that he'd be back in time for dinner, he just has something to sort out." Pepper nodded.

"Thanks," Pepper said. "What toppings do you like?" She asked, gesturing the large array of toppings she had spread out on the kitchen table. Peter shrugged.

"I like anything but anchovies," He replied. "I'll be through in just a moment." Peter said, lifting his suitcase through the kitchen to where he knew the spare room, that had now become his bedroom, was. He dumped the case on the bed, not bothering to unpack. He would sort it out later. It wasn't like he had a lot of stuff with him. Just a few changes of clothes and his toothbrush and overnight gear. Mr Stark said that he would bring more of Peter's stuff when he returned to Queens in a few days to sort through Peter's apartment.

"I'll put on the sauce, you sprinkle the cheese," Pepper told Peter, gesturing to the bowl of grated cheese. Whilst he had been in his room, she had rolled the dough out into four large pizzas and started spreading tomato purée over them.

"Is someone coming for dinner?" Peter asked curiously, gesturing to the fourth pizza. Pepper shook her head.

"Tony mentioned that you needed to eat plenty because of your metabolism and he also said that you hadn't been eating properly at the avengers compound," Pepper explained. "We're feeding you up." Peter couldn't really think of a reply so he didn't and just began sprinkling generous portions of cheese on the pizzas that Pepper had already put purée on.

"Can I stuff the crusts with cheese?" Peter asked, remembering how he, Aunt May and Uncle Ben used to make pizzas and they stuffed the crusts with cheese so much that it would ooze out. That was their Saturday night treat. Until Uncle Ben had died. After that there were less treats like that. With only one income coming in, they were tighter financially. Peter pretended in front of Aunt May that it didn't really matter to him, but the small things like that were the things that he missed the most.

"You are just like Tony you know?" Pepper told him, looking up at him. "He always stuffs the crusts when he helps."

"Mr Stark knows how to cook?" Peter asked, slightly surprised. Pepper laughed slightly.

"I wouldn't say cook exactly," Pepper said, putting her spoon down by the sink. "More... I made sure that he didn't start a fire every time he walked into a kitchen." Peter snorted slightly. And he had made fun of Aunt May's baking. Peter had to swallow again to stop the tears. This time it wasn't enough though, and he had to blink quickly to stop the tears that had formed in his eyes.

"Mr Stark has set the kitchen on fire?" He asked, wanting to keep the conversation light. He had moved from the city to get away from all the memories he had of Aunt May, Ned and MJ, he didn't want to carry on thinking about them. It wasn't that he wanted to completely forget them. The memories... they were just painful.

"On several occasions," Pepper revealed. "The first time I invited him round mine, he nearly set himself on fire. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. My hob was gas and he got a bit distracted by the dress that I was wearing that he didn't realise how close he was standing to the hob which I had turned on and set his blazer sleeve on fire." Peter spluttered slightly at that imagery. "And then he kept yelling for J.A.R.V.I.S to put it out, forgetting that he was at mine, not his." Peter looked at her confused.

"J.A.R.V.I.S?" He asked. He had heard the name Jarvis said by Mr Stark before, but he didn't know who it was.

"Oh the AI that Tony had before F.R.I.D.A.Y," Pepper explained quickly. "Ultron destroyed it, but Tony put the remaining bits of code to help create Vision." Peter nodded, he knew about Ultron and the circumstances under which Vision had been created. The whole world did, after what happened in Sokovia.

"Smells amazing Peps," Tony said, walking into the kitchen as she placed the bowl of salad on the table. He sighed, clearly slightly stressed, running his hand through his hair. "Thank you. Sorry I'm late, you know things have been crazy. I should be able to stay home for the next couple of days though."

"It wasn't just me you know," Pepper told her husband, walking over to the oven to check on the rest of the food. "Peter helped." Tony turned and saw Peter by the sink, pouring glasses of water for the three of them to have with their dinner.

"Thanks kiddo," Tony smiled before his grin faded as he saw Pepper take the first pizza out the oven. "Why would you do that?" He asked, disgust evident on his face. Pepper and Peter both stared at him confused. "Pineapple?" He raised his eyebrow. "On pizza?" Pepper and Peter cracked up slightly.

"Relax, it's only on one of the pizzas," Pepper laughed as she began piling the food onto the table so that they could all dish their on plates up.

"Mr Stark, I was thinking-" Peter began once they had all sat down, piled their plates up and begun eating.

"You don't say," Tony cut in, grinning slightly before he curled his nose up in disgust as Pepper began piling salad onto his place. "Hey!" He protested.

"It's good for you," Pepper told him in the tone that Tony knew there was no point arguing with. "What were you saying before my husband so rudely interrupted?"

"People are gonna notice that spider-man's not out on the streets anymore," Peter began before pausing to take a bite of garlic bread. "And people are gonna put two and two together about him disappearing and the random teenager that you've got living with you." Pepper and Tony both sighed. With everything going on, Thanos, Pepper's pregnancy, getting Peter out of the city, they had completely lost sight of the fact that Peter's identity as spider-man could be revealed.

It probably wouldn't be worked out as quickly as it would have before the snap, but the world was starting to move on now. The media was beginning to report on things other than the food banks and child adoption centres that had been set up. People were bound to find out that Peter was spider-man sooner or later.

"I guess it doesn't really matter now," Peter sighed. "I wanted to stay anonymous before in case anyone went after-" He broke off, biting his lip slightly. "Aunt May. I guess that doesn't really matter anymore." Tony exchanged a look with Pepper sighing.

"Actually it might matter," He said, rubbing his eye, tired. "The reason I had to dash off after dropping you off, was because I had a meeting with Secretary Ross."

"Oh for go-" Pepper began,pushing her plate away.

"I know," Tony interrupted. "I know. You would've thought after all this he would stop breathing down my back."

"What does he want now?" Pepper asked as Peter looked between them, slightly confused at what this had to do with the world finding out about spider-man. He had heard of Secretary Ross. He had something to do with the Sokovia Accords which he knew was the reason why the avengers broke up and Peter was recruited to help Tony in Germany.

"He wants the rogue avengers locked up," Tony told her sighing. "You would've thought that after... he also wants spider-man to sign the Accords. Says he counts as an enhanced individual."

"What would be so bad about that though?" Peter asked confused. He knew that Tony had signed the accords so he didn't get why Tony would be opposed to him signing them.

"Because you're 16," Tony told him, looking across the table to Peter, catching his eye. "Legally you're a minor which means that you legally can't actually be a part of the avengers. Technically you can kind of be though because you're a vigilante and if you join in fighting the avengers, we can't exactly stop you."

"So I'm in the little grey area?" Peter asked, referring to when Tony had told him to stay in the grey area. Tony smiled slightly at the memory. Things had been so much simpler then. He probably could've kept Ross off Peter's back, but now... Nothing was ever going to go back to normal.

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "And if you sign the accords, you surrender your rights as a minor. I don't want that for you."

"What would that mean though?" Peter asked, confused.

"Worst case scenario?" Tony asked, sighing. He had hoped that he would have more time before he had to explain all of this to Peter. "They could incarcerate you, saying that you only prevented the avengers from stopping Thanos. They could blame you for the death of half of the universe."

"Jesus," Pepper whispered, not realising quite how bad that it could be for Peter.

"It's ridiculous of course," Tony said quickly, not wanting Peter to feel the blame. If anything it was on him. He should've forced Strange to stop being so proud and made him give him the stone so he could protect it. "But it'd be our word against theirs. All this was their fault though. They split the avengers up so we were weaker. It was like Cap said once, the Accords only shift the blame."

"And if they knew my identity, they could force me to sign?" Peter asked and Tony nodded. "And if I don't sign?"

"They will probably call for your arrest anyway," Tony sighed. "I only really found out it could be that bad today when I had my meeting with Ross, but he had been hinting that he wanted me to tell him your true identity."

"And if I don't sign?" Peter asked, though he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer.

"Then you can't use your powers," Tony told him. "And if they find out you have been using your powers, they can lock you up."

"So basically if they find out who I am, I'm getting locked up either way?" Peter asked, looking across between Pepper and Tony. Pepper looked to Tony.

Sighing, he nodded his head wearily.

* * *

**_I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think. I love getting feedback so that I can improve my writing._**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

"_What if someone had died tonight, different story right? Cos that's on you," Tony's cutting words bit through the air as MJ and Ned appeared._

"_This is all your fault," Ned told Peter, stepping forward. "We'd still be alive if it weren't for you."_

"_Maybe if you weren't so weak you would've been able to stop Thanos," MJ chimed in, her eyes flashing in anger at Peter. "You don't deserve to live."_

"_You couldn't save your parents, or your uncle, and now me," Peter spun round as he heard the voice of his aunt. _

"_May," He whispered, collapsing to his knees, seeing his aunt. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, his voice cracking. "I tried. I did my best."_

"_It wasn't enough," Peter's eyes widened at the voice of a man he hadn't heard in years. His uncle Ben. "You could have saved me. You know that you could. You could have stopped the man who shot me."_

"_I know," Peter cried. "I'm sorry, I should have. Please-"_

"_You don't deserve to be alive," Ben told him harshly. "You're like fire. You burn everyone around you. There is no one left who cares about you. You think the great Tony Stark cares for you? He just feels sorry for you. And you're just using him to replace us. Your real family. You don't care about, you've just forgotten about us."_

"_No!" Peter shouted, stepping forward to his uncle. "That's not true."_

"_Then why didn't you even sort through my stuff in the apartment?" May asked, stepping next to Ben._

Sweating and panting, Peter shot up in bed suddenly as he woke up. As his breathing slowed down so that it was at a normal pace, he used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Mr Parker, you seem to be in a great deal of distress, should I inform Mr Stark?" F.R.I.D.A.Y asked, making Peter jump slightly. He shook his head quickly.

"_You think the great Tony Stark cares for you. He just feels sorry for you,"_ Uncle Ben's words swam around his head. Mr Stark wouldn't like being disturbed just because he had a stupid dream.

"No thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y," He said eventually. "What time is it?"

"4:56am," The reply came instantaneously. Peter sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep after that. He leaned over and switched his bedside lamp on. He may as well watch a film seeing as he wouldn't be going back to sleep. "F.R.I.D.A.Y, play Star Wars: The Force Awakens." He settled down as the TV that Mr Stark put in his room lit up and began playing the film.

* * *

Tony rolled over, groaning as the light of dawn flooded through the window, waking him up. He blinked several times, allowing himself to get used to the light. He smiled slightly at his wife's peaceful face as she slept. She looked calmer than she had looked in ages,since before Thanos. He kissed her gently on the forehead before he slipped out of their bed. He wanted to make her breakfast before she woke up. She was always the one to make him breakfast, he thought that he would return the favour for once. How hard could making pancakes be? As he walked past Peter's room, he raised his eyes in surprise as he heard the TV playing. He knocked gently on the door before putting his head around it.

"Yeah?" Peter looked up from his bed where he was watching TV, surprised that Mr Stark was up this early.

"You okay?" Tony asked him, slightly concerned. He knew that Peter hadn't been sleeping well, but he had a feeling that this was something more was going on, he couldn't put his finger on it though. Peter nodded quickly, Mr Stark wouldn't want to know about his nightmares. They were stupid, besides he had his own problems to worry about. He had a baby on the way and a company to run. He didn't want to pull Mr Stark away from any of that. "I was heading downstairs to make pancakes for Pep, you wanna join me?"

"Sure," Peter said getting up. He'd watched this film hundreds of times before and he could finish it later. "F.R.I.D.A.Y can you pause it for me."

"Of course Mr Parker," The voice came immediately as Peter leaped out from his bed and landed by the door.

"Whoa kid, slow down," Tony laughed slightly at the teen's eagerness. "The pancakes aren't going anywhere." Peter smirked slightly before easily jumping over the stair bannister, standing on it sideways and doing a flip to reach the bottom of the stairs.

"It's easy," Peter laughed at Tony's expression. Tony rolled his eyes slightly before going down the stairs to join him.

"You'd certainly win gold in the Olympics," Tony joked, though both of them had no idea if the Olympics would even go ahead. It was two years away, but with everything that would happen. No one had any idea how much things would change with half the universe dead.

"I was thinking about what you said last night," Peter told Tony as they began cracking eggs in the kitchen. "I don't think the Spider-man thing will be an issue for a while, I mean I'm not going to get much chance to go out on patrol out here." Tony nodded, thinking.

"Ross can't really complain if you're going out," Tony agreed. "It'll keep him off our backs until we can work out some sort of deal with Ross that means that you can sign the accords without having your identity revealed." It didn't take the two of them long to mix up the batter. "Pepper and I spoke last night and we think we've figured out a way to keep the press from working out who you are. When Pepper and I first started dating, the press kept going after her sister so Pep made a deal so that they wouldn't go after her. It means that they don't know anything about her sister's life though. She... didn't survive the snap-"

"I had no idea Mr Stark," Peter interrupted, realising that he had been so caught up in his own grief that he didn't think about how Mr Stark and Pepper would have been affected.

"You weren't to know. But no one in the press knows if she had a son or not. We can tell them that you're Pepper's nephew," Tony told Peter. "They'd have no idea that it's all a lie."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked. He felt kinda bad that Tony and Pepper had to make up lies about Pepper's dead sister.

"Of course," Tony ruffled Peter's hair slightly.

"I was wondering if there was a lab here to work in," Peter said, changing the subject. "To tinker in."

"It's around the back of the house," Tony told him. "I don't want you to go in there alone though." Peter rolled his eyes slightly at Tony's over protectiveness. "I have stuff in there that I don't want you touching, it's dangerous." Peter nodded.

"Thanks," He smiled as Tony prepared to flip the first pancake. "You sure you don't just want to use a spatula to do that?"

"Relax, I've seen Pepper do it hundreds of times, it'll be easy," Tony laughed, before he flipped the pancake, but putting too much force into it so it flipped up so high that it got stuck to the ceiling. Peter spluttered with laughter as Tony looked up at the ceiling, aghast. Peter grinned as he saw it staying there before he flipped up onto the ceiling.

"I guess I'll get it then," Peter told Tony, bending so that he was crouching on the balls of his feet off the ceiling. He quickly flicked the pancake so that it fell down again – directly onto Tony's head. Peter cracked up with laughter once more as he got back down on the floor again. "Oops." He shrugged.

At that moment Pepper walked into the room, having been woken up by their laughter and jokes. She had to bite her lip to stop herself laughing as she saw Tony's dishevelled hair with a half cooked pancake sitting on it. Her expression only made Peter laugh harder. In the moment, he had forgotten all that had happened. If anyone was watching, they would have never guessed that Peter wasn't really the son of Tony and Pepper. It just seemed like a regular family having breakfast together.

* * *

Ignoring the sweat pouring down his face, Peter continued pulling the oars back and forth until he had got about halfway round the lake. The sun was beating down hard on his back and he needed a rest. Pepper had told him that there was a small boat that he could take out on the lake if he wanted so he'd gone out straight after breakfast. It had been several weeks since he had moved out of the city with Pepper and Mr Stark. He wanted some time to himself.

Things had been a bit easier since he'd stopped living in the city. He still missed a bit of it though. He got bored here. There was no school nearby so he was home schooled. Being home schooled sucked. Majorly. Peter had always been top of the class, well he had before he became Spider-man. His grades had dropped a bit when had become Spider-man. Patrolling was more important than homework. Home schooling meant that he had to spend several hours a day staring at textbooks and making notes. It bored him to death. There was nothing else to do here though. He couldn't even go out as Spider-man now.

Things would be less boring when the baby came along he supposed. Just as he began thinking about Mr Stark and Pepper's baby, an idea came to him. He smiled, it would take time to prepare, but he had several months until the baby would come into the world and a while after then until the baby would be big enough to use it safely. Though it would take him time to prepare though. He would need to design it before he could even begin on it.

* * *

**_I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think. I love hearing from you guys._**


	6. Chapter 6

"Peter?" A surprised voice that Peter recognised, but hadn't heard in a long time, made him jump slightly as he was walking in the fields surrounding the house. He had spent a lot of time outside in the countryside now that he wasn't living in the city. It gave him something to do other than spend all his time in the lab. Peter looked around until he saw a girl around his age. One that he knew.

"Liz?" He called back, wondering what she was doing here. He hadn't even heard from her after she told him that she was moving away when it was her dad's trial. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his mind reeling as he ran over to the girl that he had once liked so much and thought that he would never see again.

"I-" Liz began, unsure of how to explain. "My mum... didn't survive." Peter squeezed her hand sympathetically, knowing that she was talking about the snap. "Me and my brother would've had to go into one of those mass orphanages but my dad, he made some sort of deal." She smiled weakly at Peter. "They needed to empty up the prisons. I have no idea what the deal was about, but it got him out so he could look after me and my brother." Peter was unsure of what to say so he began with an easier topic.

"You have a brother?" He asked. Liz had never mentioned him before and Peter remembered everything Liz told him.

"Tobias," Liz nodded. "He's a couple of years younger than me, but he went to a different school. One that specialises in the arts." She explained.

"Oh," Peter said, not knowing what more to say.

"I heard about Tony Stark taking you in," Liz told him. "They were talking about the rumours of it on the news."

"Yeah," Peter nodded. "I um-" He paused, realising that there was a major hole in his story that he was Pepper's nephew. He quickly made more of his story up on the spot to make what they had told the media more believable. "My mum was away loads when I was little so she decided it was best for me to live with close friends, May and Ben. Ben died a couple of years ago and both May and... my birth mother... they didn't survive. My birth mum is Pepper's sister so she insisted on taking me in." Peter explained, thinking on his feet. It was the only explanation he could come up with for why he grew up with Uncle Ben and Aunt May but was somehow Pepper's sister's son.

"Was that how you got the internship?" Liz asked, thinking she had made the connection with how Peter managed to get the Stark internship when so few managed to get one.

"Uh yeah," Peter told her, realising that it was easy to just tell her that. "When did you move here?" He asked. He hadn't known that anyone else lived near the lake.

"A few days ago," Liz replied as they continued walking together. "We moved back to the city for a while when my dad got out, but he said that it brought back too many bad memories for all of us there. He found a place near here out of the city and thought that would be best."

"Do you want to come back to mine for a bit?" Peter asked. "I've not got much company out here."

"Sure," Liz smiled, following as Peter led them in a different direction so that they could go back to his house. "Peter," She said hesitantly after a few moments. "Can you tell me. Who... from Midtown High? Who didn't... survive?" Peter sighed.

"I'm sorry Liz," He said softly, knowing that hearing this would be difficult for her.

"Just tell me, please," She said, looking him in the eye, just wanting to know.

"Ned, MJ-" Liz looked confused at this. "Michelle, I mean. Flash. Betty."

"Oh Peter," Liz said, her eyes brimming with tears. She knew that Ned and Peter had been best friends and MJ had been starting to grow closer to him by the time she left Midtown.

"I know," Peter said as Liz took his hand and squeezed it gently. Peter froze slightly at this show of affection and reassurance. He had used to like Liz, but he had moved on since then. Now... he had no idea what he felt. There hadn't been enough time since Thanos. Liz quickly pulled her hand away, realising that he was uncomfortable.

They continued walking on in silence, Peter's mind whirring. If Toomes was out, and living nearby, that couldn't be good. Liz seemed surprised to see Peter though. It wasn't yet public knowledge that Peter and the Starks were living here. It was probably just a coincidence. Apart from the avengers and Pepper, Toomes was the only one that knew that Peter was Spider-man. He had no doubt that Tony would figure out some way to sort it out. Toomes would have nothing to gain now by revealing Peter's identity anyway.

"Who's this?" Pepper asked when she saw Peter walking in with a girl that she didn't recognise.

"Liz," Peter told her. "She used to go to Midtown."

"Good to meet you," Pepper smiled at her. "Do you guys want to watch a film in the cinema?"

"There's a cinema here?" Liz and Peter asked simultaneously.

"This cabin house is a lot bigger than it seems," Pepper laughed. "In the basement. There's snacks in the kitchen, just grab what you want and ask F.R.I.D.A.Y to play whatever film you want."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y?" Liz asked, confused, not knowing who she was.

"Hello Liz," F.R.I.D.A.Y said immediately. "I'm a user interface that Mr Stark invented. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Oh, uh thanks," Liz replied, sounding slightly freaked out by the voice that had apparently come out of thin air.

"Do you want a drink or something to eat?" Peter asked but Liz shook her head so he instead led her down to the cinema.

* * *

"Peter still out?" Tony asked Pepper a couple of hours later as he walked into the kitchen from his lab outside.

"Nope," Pepper smiled, walking over to her husband. "He came back," Then she smirked slightly. "With a girl." Tony returned the smirk at that.

"The Spiderling's growing up," He smiled. "Who is she?"

"Peter said her name's Liz," Pepper shrugged. "They're watching a film at the moment."

"Liz," Tony repeated, thinking hard. "Where do I know her from?" He paused, thinking, before F.R.I.D.A.Y replied.

"Sir, if I may," She said.

"What?" Tony asked, still puzzled.

"According to Karen, she is the girl that Peter used to like and took to homecoming," F.R.I.D.A.Y told him.

"Who's Karen?" Tony asked confused.

"The AI in his suit," Pepper told him immediately, rolling his eyes. "Have you never been in his room when he's wearing the spiderman mask and heard him talking to her?"

"No," Tony said, sighing. Though it didn't surprise him that Peter named his AI. "Of course he does." He gave Pepper a quick kiss before pulling out quickly. "Am I allowed to embarrass him?" He asked smirking again, but the smirk fell from his face as quickly as it came when he saw Pepper's expression.

"No," She slapped his arm gently. "Don't you dare. He deserves a bit of happiness." The smile from her face and the joy from his eyes faded. They both knew that the kid could do with someone else his age. Although neither of them could deny that he had been happier since moving out of the city, he was lonelier.

"He deserves so much better than what he has," Tony agreed. "I just wish there was something that I could do."

"You're doing everything that you can," Pepper told him gently. "I've seen the way that he looks up to you. You're like the father he never had."

"I'm not-" Tony began.

"Yes," Pepper told him, putting her finger to his lip to stop him from protesting. "You may not realise it, but you are, and you are going to make an incredible father to our child." She pulled his hands down to where the small baby bump was beginning to show and wrapped his hands around it.

"And you are going to make an amazing mother," He told her, using his thumb to rub the back of her hand gently.

* * *

_Peter groaned in pain as he tried to wriggle out from underneath the rubble of the building that had collapsed on top of him. The feeling of despair and hopelessness welled up in him. There was no escape. He was going to die here, his body crushing under the weight of the building. He breathed heavily, in and out. In and out. He tried focusing on his breathing, maybe it could distract him from the feeling of his lungs being crushed in his chest._

"_You can't escape," Toomes loomed over him, leering. "And you couldn't stop Thanos either. Now half the universe is dead."_

"_No!" Peter shouted, still wriggling, still desperately trying to escape. "I can still save them."_

"_They're dead," Toomes laughed harshly. "Your friends, Ned, MJ, your dear old Aunt May. All gone. Because of you."_

"_It's not true," Peter sobbed, still unable to move. "I tried my best."_

"_And it wasn't enough" He told Peter as the young teen sobbed._

"Mr Parker," F.R.I.D.A.Y called out, waking the distressed boy from his deep sleep. His sat up, sighing as he realised that it had just been a nightmare. Except it wasn't. "It seems you're in distress, would you like me to inform Mr Stark?"

"No," Peter said quickly. It was just a stupid dream. Except it wasn't really. Peter hadn't been able to save everyone. His best wasn't enough. And it was all his fault.

"Mr Parker, I think Mr Stark would want me to wake him up," F.R.I.D.A.Y argued and Peter sighed, trying to think of an excuse to stop her telling him.

"I'm fine now though," Peter quickly said. "Please don't tell him." There was a slight pause before F.R.I.D.A.Y's response came.

"Very well," Peter could have sworn that there was a hint of disapproval in her reply. "But if these nightmares continue, I will be forced to inform Mr Stark. He has programmed me to inform him if you aren't getting sufficient sleep."

"I'll start napping," Peter told her, knowing that she would have no choice but to tell Mr Stark.

"Good idea," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied before Peter sighed, flopping back onto his bed, his hair plastered with sweat to his head.

"What's the time?" He asked.

"6:13am," Peter stood up, walking over to his window. It was late enough that Mr Stark wouldn't ask questions about why he was awake at such an early time. Several times Mr Stark had found him awake early in the couple of months that he had been living with him. Peter had made up some excuses about how he had just been about to go to the kitchen to grab some water because he couldn't sleep because he was too thirsty. He wasn't sure that Mr Stark believed him though. It was only a matter of time before he started asking him questions.

* * *

_**I just want to say that this isn't a Peter/Liz story, I really don't ship them, I just thought that it would be a bit boring if it was just Peter hanging out with Pepper and Tony every single chapter. Liz is just gonna be a little side story to stop it from getting really boring because all of Peter's other friends are dead.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think.**_


	7. Chapter 7

"So Liz then," Tony smirked across at Peter as they ate their lunch together. Pepper had gone out to the city for the day so they had spent the day in the lab, tinkering together. "F.R.I.D.A.Y told me you took her to homecoming."

"It's not like that," Peter argued. "Well it was, but... not now. She moved away and I moved on."

"Uh huh," Tony nodded, not believing him.

"It's true," Peter folded his arms in fake annoyance. "Besides, I doubt her dad would ever let me date her."

"So you do want to date her," Tony laughed and Peter rolled his eyes. "Why wouldn't he be happy with you dating her?"

"Her surname's Toomes," Peter told him, and Tony's face turned to surprise.

"But what does that have to do wi-"

"He figured out that I'm spider-man," Peter interrupted. Jumping up, Tony's eyes widened in shock. He began pacing through the kitchen.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" He asked, arching an eyebrow . "Peter," He sighed in annoyance.

"I didn't think tha-" Peter began.

"Didn't think that it would be a good idea to tell me that your secret identity has been compromised," Tony asked, raising his voice slightly. "Kid... why wouldn't that be important? He could come after you. Kill you."

"He was in prison though," Peter argued, but Tony shook his head at his naïvety.

"That wouldn't stop him kid. He could still get to you, or reveal your identity," Tony ran his hand through his hair ruffling it in worry. "Do you know if he's still in prison now?" Peter shook his head.

"After..." Peter began before trailing off. "Liz's mum didn't survive. Liz said that his dad, oh-" Peter trailed off once more, realising what had happened.

"Peter," Tony prompted.

"He made a deal," Peter told him after a slight pause. Tony sighed slightly.

"How long ago was this?" Peter shrugged before replying.

"I've got no idea," Peter replied. "A while. They moved back to New York and then moved again to near here recently." Tony sighed again.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Tony paused his pacing to stare at Peter who winced at the angry expression that Tony was giving him.

"I- I didn't think," Peter said, looking down at his plate of food. Tony saw his dejected face and walked over to him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll figure this out kid, don't worry," Tony reassured him, though he wasn't sure right now just how he would do that. He'd have to do some digging. "Just tell me if something like this happens again." Peter nodded.

* * *

Peter wrinkled his forehead, trying to work out what the loud shouts downstairs were. Pepper had arrived home half an hour after he and Tony had eaten their dinner. Peter had already gone up to his room and didn't want to disturb them. He wasn't sure what they were doing, but there was a lot of shouting and laughter. After a loud crash a few minutes later, he finally put his book down to find out what they were doing.

"In your face Pepper!" He heard Tony yell triumphantly jumping up from the sofa.

"You cheated!" Pepper looked utterly scandalized. "That was completely unfair of you to break that lamp to distract me." Peter looked between them, confused. In both their hands was a Wii remote and the lamp beside them was shattered, shards of glass scattered on the carpet.

"Um," Peter said, realising that they were just being five year olds.

"Oh, hey Pete," Tony smiled. "Want to join us? We're having a Mario kart competition." He explained, gesturing to the side where there were spare Wii remotes.

"Sure," Peter smiled, smirking. He was the king of Mario kart. Tony wouldn't be beating him.

"We're not playing another game until you've cleared up that glass," Pepper told her husband, arching her eyebrow and folding her arms. "You broke it, you clean it up."

"I'll do it later," Tony waved her off, before turning back to the TV. Peter laughed as Pepper snatched the remote from her husband's hand, waiting. "Fine." Tony huffed, before going into the kitchen to fetch a dustpan and brush.

"I think you must be the only person in the world who can get Tony to do what you want," Peter laughed as Tony bent down to sort out the broken glass.

"Even I can only do it half the time," Pepper told him, stretching out her legs on the sofa so that Tony wouldn't be able to sit down again when he had finished with the lamp.

"Actually it is only 45.7% of the time," F.R.I.D.A.Y chimed in. Pepper and Peter both cracked up at this.

"One day I'm gonna rewrite your code," Tony muttered quietly which only made the two of them crack up louder. "F.R.I.D.A.Y, can you order another lamp?" Tony asked and Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony's laziness of just getting F.R.I.D.A.Y to order one.

"Certainly sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y's response was immediate.

"Yesssss!" Peter leaped up from his seat a while later as his character crossed the finish line. Pepper rolled her eyes as she continued, determined to beat her husband.

"Hey Pete," Tony said, desperately tapping his remote, trying to overtake Pepper. "I'll make you breakfast in bed for the next week if you distract Peps." Peter narrowed his eyes, turning to Pepper waiting for her offer.

"Two weeks," She told him. "And I'm a better cook." Peter couldn't deny that. Grinning, he picked up the cushion that he had been leaning on and chucked it in Tony's face, distracting him long enough for Pepper to be able to cross the finish line.

"Peter you're grounded," Tony said, throwing his remote down on the sofa. "Until you turn 18."

"Pepper," Peter whined, turning to her, waiting for her to overturn Tony's ruling.

"Tony lay off him, you can't ground him just because you're a sore loser,"

"He was cheating," Tony folded his arms, pretending to be in a two year old tantrum.

"And you broke a lamp to distract me. A cushion to the face is nothing," She smirked. Peter laughed, smiling. There were beginning to be more and more moments like this. Where things seemed normal. They felt like a real family. They were a real family. Peter's smile faded slightly when he remembered the events that led to him being there. If Thanos had never happened, if half the universe wasn't dead. He wouldn't be here. He didn't deserve to feel happy. Not when there were so many dead.

"I-I should get to bed, it's getting late," Peter said, wanting a quick escape. Tony looked up at the clock and saw it was still early in the evening, but he didn't say anything. The kid clearly wanted to be alone. He figured that Peter wouldn't want him there. He was just a reminder that his aunt was dead. Besides, he had no idea how to comfort him. He wasn't good with people, especially not grieving teenagers. Maybe he should read up on it.

Peter headed up to his room, sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall, staring out his window, watching the sun set. He eventually slumped down and curled up on his bed, exhausted. He hadn't even been particularly active today. He emotionally drained though. He always was. It was just a permanent state now. He thought that the pain might dull after a while. It hadn't. If anything it got worse. Especially on the days where he was happy. It hit him the worse when he remembered what had happened. It only made him feel guiltier. He didn't deserve to be alive. It was his fault that Thanos won. He should have done more, fought harder.

He had only been asleep for a couple of hours, when the nightmares began plaguing his sleep.

"_Peter!" Peter spun around at the sound of his aunt's shout. "Peter!" He saw her on the edge of a cliff, clinging to the edge desperately. _

"_May!" He shouted, darting in her direction. He had to save her. The faster he ran, the further away the cliff edge seemed to be. _

"_Peter, save me!" Aunt May yelled, as one hand slipped from the cliff so that she was holding herself up with only one hand. Peter reached her just as her other hand slipped, he shot a web shooter at her. The web attached itself to her wrist, stopping her from falling. Peter heaved a sigh of relief as she hung. Then he watched as she began to disintegrate in front of him. He could only watch as the web that had saved her floated down into the sea. _

"_May!" Peter cried, collapsing onto his knees, tears flowing down his face. "I'm sorry."_

* * *

_**Sorry the chapter's a bit shorter than usual and it took longer to update. I'm really busy now school's started back again but I'll try and update as often as I can. I would love to know what you think of this chapter, so please drop me a review :)**_


	8. Chapter 8

Peter smiled softly to himself as he scribbled down the final calculation next to the sketch that he had drawn. The planning was done. It had been a lot more difficult than he had thought but he needed to make sure all the calculations were precise. He didn't want the baby to end up hurt. Not that they'd be a baby by the time they got to use it. They'd have to be at the very least crawling. He had ages to make it now, but he knew that the time would fly by. Besides he needed to make some adaptations to his webbing before he could start. He needed to make sure that it was long lasting and durable.

He picked up his phone, suddenly wanting to be outside. He quickly tapped on Liz's number and began sending his message.

Peter: _Hey Liz! I was bored and wondering if u wanted to come round for a bit. I have a boat and we could row round the lake 4 a bit. Have a picnic on the island. U could bring Tobias (that is his name right?) as well if u wanted, I haven't met him yet :)_

Peter smiled as Liz's response came almost instantly.

_Liz: I'd love to! I'll go and ask Tobias now if he wants to join us. I'll be round asap. C u soon_

_Peter: C ya_

"Pepper, is it alright if I have a picnic on the island?" Peter asked, walking into the garden where she was sitting relaxed on the swinging seat there, watching Tony do some gardening. Peter realised that it was kind of an odd scene. A few months ago no one would have guessed that Tony would be living in the countryside doing the gardening. Everything had changed though. Weird was the new normal.

"There should be stuff in the kitchen," Pepper told him. "Just get what you want."

"Have fun kiddo," Tony smiled at the kid standing by his wife.

"I will," Peter returned the smile.

* * *

"How much food did you bring?" Tobias asked, staring in amazement at the seemingly never ending pile of food that Peter was pulling out of his backpack. Peter and Tobias had got on well, and the three of them had had fun on the row over to the island.

"I get hungry," Peter shrugged, putting the now empty backpack on the boat that they had heaved up onto the shore. He stared at the pile of food, seeing that maybe he had been a bit overzealous when packing the food up.

"How did you manage to fit all that in your bag?" Liz asked, passing round the plastic plates that Peter had put on the floor.

"Tony and Pepper helped," Peter shrugged. "I say Tony helped. I really mean that Pepper did it all while he stood around making sarcastic comments."

"You call Iron Man Tony?" Tobias asked, looking in awe at Peter who nodded. "That's... so cool."

"I guess," Peter shrugged. Now he thought about it, if he had known this time last year that he would be living with The Tony Stark... His hero. "I can introduce you if you want." He offered and Tobias' eyes lit up. Liz rolled her eyes slightly.

"I don't know what your fascination with Iron Man is,"

"Just because you've had a crush on Spider-man ever since he saved you in Washington," Tobias retorted and Liz blushed slightly.

"I don't have a crush on him," She objected. "I just think that he's a better hero than Iron Man, no offence Peter." She said, turning to Peter.

"None taken," He told her, internally laughing. He couldn't wait to relay this conversation back to Tony. Once upon a time he would've been delighted to hear that. Although it still made him laugh, it didn't make him as happy as it once would've. He didn't like Liz like that now.

"But it kinda seems like Iron Man does it for the fame, not that he needed anymore considering that he's Tony Stark. Spider-man keeps his identity secret though. He helps people because he wants to, not for the fame." Liz told him as the three of them dove into the food.

* * *

"Do you ever think we're doing the wrong thing?" Tony asked as he and Pepper watched Peter, Liz and Tobias walk towards the lake. Pepper turned his head to face her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyes wide in concern at what Tony was saying.

"I just-" He sighed. "Living here, looking after the kid... I just..." He trailed off once more as Pepper wrapped her arms around him.

"I know," She told him, rubbing his back soothingly.

"It just feels wrong," He explained. "With everything that happened. I shouldn't be alive."

"Don't," Pepper told him, putting her finger on his lip. "Don't do that to yourself. You did everything that you could. It was random who survived."

"I know, I just-" Pepper smiled sympathetically, knowing exactly what Tony meant. One couldn't help but feel guilty that they had survived. "And would the kid's aunt approve of me taking him in? I kind of just abandoned him after Peter had declined the offer of becoming an avenger. I was an idiot. I really didn't deal with him well."

"You did your best," Pepper told him. "And I know if I was Peter's aunt, I'd just want my kid to be in a happy family."

"You think we're a family?" Tony asked, pulling out of Pepper's arms, looking into her eyes seriously. There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Of course we are Tony," Pepper said with a hint of a smile on her lips. "And it'll be a bigger family soon." She smiled down at her small bump and Tony put his hands on it, feeling their baby.

"I just never thought I'd have this," He smiled, leaning in for a quick kiss. "I love you Pep."

"I love you too," Pepper replied. Tony's phone began ringing and he sighed as he saw the caller ID. "Who is it?" Pepper asked.

"Ross," Tony said darkly, the smile disappearing from his face. Pepper sighed as he accepted the call. "What?" He asked, wanting Ross to get to the point as soon as possible so he could get back to spending time with his wife.

"Always so polite Stark," The response came. Tony walked out of the room, not wanting Pepper to hear Ross. He didn't want her worrying about anything. "You know what I want Stark. It was the rogue avengers' fault that my daughter and half the universe is dead."

"That's not-" Tony began, but he was cut off.

"It is. If they hadn't interfered-" This time it was Tony's turn to cut Ross off.

"They were doing a hell of a lot more than you to stop Thanos," Tony argued. "And they knew that they could've been arrested when they came out of hiding to fight him."

"The face remains that they still need to sign the accords," Ross said, his voice sounding bored. "And there's another little hero that needs to sign the accords, one that has crawled under the radar so far." Panic spread across Tony's face. He knew that Ross was talking about Peter.

"Get to the point," He said shortly, wanting all the cards on the table. He was 99% certain that Ross knew that Peter was Spider-man.

"Peter Parker, or should I say Spider-man?" Ross drawled down the phone. "He needs to sign the accords."

"He has done nothing that viola-" Tony began. Technically he was right.

"He broke the accords long before Thanos," Ross reminded him.

"Because the kid had no idea what the accords were," Tony told him. "And he's not even using his powers now."

"That's not the point," Ross growled. "He still has to sign. He's an enhanced individual."

"Clint wasn't going to have to sign because he retired, if Peter's not going out as Spider-man, he doesn't need to sign," Tony argued. "And I swear, if you try to force him to sign, I will hunt you down and kill you."

"And what of the rogue avengers?" Ross asked.

"The UN has already pardoned them because of what they did in Wakanda," Tony reminded him. It had been a close vote, but the UN had decided that they were allowed to be pardoned. For now they were allowed to operate in America, but no other countries without signing the accords.

"But if you ever want your little avengers group to band together again, they will need to sign,"

"What threat could possibly be worse than Thanos?" Tony asked, anger running through him. Was Ross actually serious about all of this? Half the universe was dead and he wanted to lock up the people that tried to stop it.

"Sooner or later, one of your friends will slip up," Ross told him. "And I will be there when they do." There was a beep as the call was ended and Tony flung his phone across the room in a range.

"Tony," Pepper walked into the room, looking at the smashed phone on the floor, concern and worry filling his eyes.

"He's just taunting me," Tony told her. "He knows that he can't lock Peter or the other avengers up, and he's angry about it. He's watching us though. If Peter goes out as Spider-man, without signing the accords, he will be locked up."

"We'll figure something out," Pepper told him, walking over to him. He smiled in return, knowing that this wasn't the last that he had heard from Ross.

* * *

"It's been too long," Rhodey smiled walking into the house a few days later.

"Rhodes," Tony returned the smile, striding over to his best friend. "You really do work too hard. I've not seen you since I moved out here." Rhodey shrugged, waving over to Pepper.

"You know how it's been," He told Tony who nodded. "It's a nice place here though." A loud thump caused by Peter flipping off the ceiling made him jump and promptly trip up over a chair. His braces weren't perfect and he still wasn't 100% used to his normal walking ones.

"Oops, sorry," Peter grinned sheepishly as he held his hand out to help Rhodey up. Rhodey declined though and used the chair to push himself up. He despised being given help by others when it came to his legs.

"Were you on the ceiling?" Rhodey asked, raising his eyebrow whilst taking a seat. Peter nodded, blushing slightly. He was slightly in awe of Rhodey. He had only met him a few times when he had been staying at the avengers' compound and they never really spoke.

"He thinks it's fun," Pepper laughed. "But I'm sure it's just because he likes watching Tony have to clean the footprints he leaves on it because he has to get in one of his suits to clean." Rhodey cracked up laughing at that.

"Good job kid," He smiled. "Make sure to send me a photo next time he does it." Tony scowled, glaring between Pepper and Rhodey, unsure of who to be more annoyed with.

"If you do send him a photo, remember I probably have a lot more embarrassing ones of you that I could share," Tony smirked at Peter who rolled his eyes.

"So unfair,"

"It's not my fault that you like wearing Iron Man pyjamas," Tony shrugged innocently at Peter who rolled his eyes again as Rhodey cracked up.

"You've got to be kidding me," He laughed. "Tony doesn't need his ego inflating anymore." Peter folded his arms in fake annoyance.

"I've had them for years," Peter told him, hoping that his explanation would make the situation less embarrassing.

"Dude I'm going to bring you some new pyjamas next time I visit," Rhodey laughed. "Some War Machine ones." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Don't you mean War Patriot?" He smirked.

"Shut up," Rhodey retorted, giving Tony a half hearted punch who shot him an equally half hearted glare.

"I remember War Patriot," Peter asked smirked and Rhodey groaned as Tony laughed. "That was so dumb. Everyone at school was making fun of it." Rhodey groaned again.

"Please don't remind me of the dark days of War Patriot," Rhodey said, causing Peter and Tony to laugh more.

"I didn't really like War Machine when I was little," Peter revealed, to Tony's outrage. "I was only really interested in Iron Man unt-" But Tony interrupted, a smirk plastered all over his face.

"Of course I was your favourite," He told Peter. "I'm the best."

"I was about to say, until the Stark Expo that I went to," Peter said glaring at Tony.

"Please don't tell me you came to _that_ Stark Expo," Tony groaned, knowing what Peter went.

"It was my birthday present," Peter told him. "It was awesome. Until the suits started attacking of course."

"All my Expos are awesome," Tony smiled, clapping Peter on the back.

"That was the first time that I met you," Peter said. He'd never actually told Tony about it. He doubted that Tony even remember him. "I had an Iron Man outfit on and one of those suits attacked me. I was so scared but I held my hand up as if I could blast it or something. I don't know. But then you landed next to it, blasted it and said-" But once again Peter was interrupted by Tony.

"Nice work kid," Tony finished in amazement. He had always remembered those words. He didn't know why. He remembered saving that kid though. He had no idea that it had been Peter though. He'd never mentioned it before. "That was you?"

"Yeah," Peter smiled, blushing slightly.

"Man, you were such a fanboy," Rhodey told Peter shaking his head. "Only a fanboy would go to a Stark Expo dressed up as Iron Man."

"I was little," Peter protested, folding his arms. "Of course I know now that War Machine is way cooler." Rhodey smiled triumphantly as the smirk faded from Tony's face.

"Hey kid, remember I'm the one who feeds you," Tony reminded him jokingly.

"No you're not," Pepper chimed in. "I'd like to see you cook something edible." Tony opened his mouth to speak but Pepper spoke again. "And no, sticking something in the microwave does not count Tony."

"It so does count," Tony began saying, but Pepper's arched eyebrow made him trail off as Peter and Rhodey began cracking up.

* * *

**_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I love hearing from you guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter._**


	9. Chapter 9

"I feel like a whale," Pepper complained, leaning back on the sofa, placing her hand on her stomach to feel her baby kicking.

"Well you still look as stunning as always," Tony smiled at her. "Well, almost as stunning." He had to duck as a cushion flew from Pepper's hand to his head. "Hey!" He objected.

"Be nice," Pepper told him grumpily.

"Sorry," Tony mumbled. He was used to Pepper being sharp with him, but she was getting grumpier now. He knew that it was just all the hormones with the baby, but it didn't stop them from getting on each other's nerves a bit. "Do you want me to sort out dinner?" He offered and Pepper smiled gratefully.

"Please don't burn the kitchen down though," She told him and he had to chuckle slightly.

"I'll fly one of my suits to the city to get take out," He replied. "Shawarrmas sound good?"

"I never get your obsession with them," Pepper laughed. "But yes, that does sound nice." Tony stood up, tapping his chest so thee nanotech on it formed his suit and he walked outside. A voice from the roof stopped him from flying off.

"Can I have a go in one of your suits at some point?" Peter asked.

"Kid, why is it whenever I see you, you're in some unnaturally high place?" Tony asked, flying to the roof and standing next to Peter who was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge. Peter leaped to his feet as the helmet on Tony's face flipped up so that they would talk.

"I like climbing," Peter said defensively and Tony chuckled slightly.

"Why would you want to fly one of my suits when you could climb?" Tony smirked, raising his eyebrow.

"Because they're cool," Peter told him. "And I bet I could do it way better than you." He smirked at Tony confidently and Tony could have sworn that it was an expression that Peter had picked up from him.

"It's not as easy as it looks kiddo," Tony ruffled Peter's hair affectionately. "I'm off to get dinner, it won't be long. Can you set the table for Pepper? She's had a long day." Peter rolled his eyes in annoyance but nodded. He leaned forward over the roof so that he was standing sideways on the house.

"I'll get right onto it," Peter told him, flipping off the roof and landing on his feet.

"See you soon kid," Tony said, before flying off.

* * *

"This looks amazing," Pepper walked into the nursery to see Tony painting smiling to himself as he painted an Iron Man on the wall. She looked around, trying to work out where Peter was. She laughed as she saw him crouching on the wall, painting a spider-man.

"It was his idea," Peter pointed with his paintbrush at Tony.

"It was the kid's idea," Tony argued and Pepper laughed. Peter jumped down from the ceiling to take in their work.

"I love it," Pepper smiled, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked around. She gave Tony a hug, wiping a splash of paint from his cheek. "Thank you."

"Our kid's gonna love it," Tony smiled, feeling Pepper's bump.

"I know," Pepper wiped a tear from her eye. Tony looked at her concerned, he was never very good with emotions. "It's just the hormones." She reassured him, seeing the look on his face. He smiled, relived.

* * *

"_Peter," He spun around at the sound of his name to see MJ standing in front of him. _

"_MJ," He smiled, running to reach her. He wrapped his arms around her. "You're alive?" He said not believing that she was really alive. He thought that she had died in the snap. She pulled out of his arms._

"_No," She told him harshly, the smile that he had given her faded as he saw the hate and anger etched into her eyes. "I'm dead. You know that. You killed me."_

"_I'm sorry," Peter's eyes welled up with tears as he tried to take her hand but she snatched it away, still glaring. "I tried my best."_

"_Spider-man is useless," MJ taunted. "And yes I know about you being Spider-man. It wasn't exactly difficult to guess. If you hadn't been there, getting in the way of the real avengers, I'd still be alive." _

"_I'm sorry," Peter repeated, searching MJ's eyes for even a hint of forgiveness. _

"_Sorry doesn't change anything," MJ told him. "I'm still dead. We're all dead." Peter looked behind her and saw everyone that he knew that had been snapped. Ned. Aunt May. Flash. Betty. Dr Strange. Peter Quill. Drax. Mantis._

"_I was only try-" Peter began, but MJ put her finger to his lips._

"_Now it's your turn to feel what we went through because of your failure," MJ whispered, arching her eyebrow and Peter felt an odd sensation go through him. He looked down at his hand as it began to flake away._

"_MJ please," He begged as more and more of him fell away. "Please. I'm sor-" But he was cut off as he fell forwards into MJ, though he never reached her because his face disappeared into dust. _

"I'm sorry," Peter gasped, writhing around, twisting his sheets around him. "I'm sorry." He repeated before sitting up, gasping for air.

"Mr Parker your blood pressure is elevated, would you like me to inform Mr Stark?" F.R.I.D.A.Y asked as he rubbed his eye sleepily.

"No," He shook his head. He didn't want to bother Mr Stark. He was always busy these days, with preparing for the baby and trying to run Stark Industries with less help from Pepper.

"Mr Parker, if you have another nightmare, I will be forced to inform Mr Stark," F.R.I.D.A.Y told him. "I am programmed to put your best interests first. It's one of the protocols Mr Stark put in place when you moved here. I've been prolonging telling him as long as possible because you seemed reluctant, but your nightmares are not going away."

"Protocols?" Peter asked, flopping backward suddenly, staring up at the ceiling. "What do you mean protocols?"

"Mr Stark has set up 342 protocols regarding you for a variety of different scenarios," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied as Peter groaned.

"Of course he did," He sighed at Mr Stark's over-protectiveness. He wrinkled his nose slightly as he thought. Why would Mr Stark bother wasting his time on all those protocols that would probably never be used? "Can you tell me some of the protocols?" He asked F.R.I.D.A.Y thoughtfully.

"Of course Mr Parker," F.R.I.D.A.Y's bright voice came instantaneously. "I am programmed to switch the oven and hob off if you try cooking without an adult in the house, I am constantly scanning the web for an news articles about you or Spider-man to protect your identity and I also have several protocols to protect your life above Mr Stark if needed."

"What?" Peter shot back up again at the last one.

"There are several protocols to protect your life about Mr Stark's if necessary," F.R.I.D.A.Y told him again. Confusion came over Peter's face. Why would he do that? Surely Peter was nowhere near as important as Tony.

"Why?" He murmured, more to himself than to F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"I believe Mr Stark cares about you a great deal," F.R.I.D.A.Y responded. Peter ran his hand through his hair, thinking. He knew that he and Tony had grown closer, especially since Peter had moved in with him and Pepper, but he had no idea that he cared that much.

* * *

Tony rubbed his eye sleepily as he popped his head around Peter's door. "Kid?" He whispered, not wanting to wake up Peter if he was asleep. He knew that he still wasn't sleeping great, always going to bed late and getting up early.

"Mr Parker is currently in the lab," F.R.I.D.A.Y told him and he sighed. Ever since he finally relented and let Peter in the lab alone, he had been glued in there. He said he was working on webbing. It had confused Tony slightly as he wasn't going out as Spider-man these days, partly because there was no saving to be done in a location this remote and partly because of Ross and the Accords. If it made Peter happy though, he guessed that was all that mattered.

"Thanks Fri," Tony sighed, deciding to make himself a cup of coffee before going to the lab to see if Peter wanted any help.

"Oh hi Mr Stark," Peter barely glanced up from his work as Tony walked into the lab. Tony had to smile at this slightly. He remembered when him and Peter had first met and Peter had fanboyed so much. Now he had grown so comfortable being around him that he barely acknowledged when Tony walked into the room. Tony still noticed him sometimes slipping up and saying 'Mr Stark' instead of 'Tony' as he insisted.

"How come when Peps told you to call her Pepper instead of Mrs Stark, you did it immediately?" Tony strode over to Peter, ruffling his hair slightly, to Peter's annoyance. Peter smirked slightly, looking up at his mentor.

"She's way scarier than you," Tony narrowed his eyes at this response.

"You think Pepper is scarier than me, Iron Man?" He asked then cracked up laughing. "Actually yeah I have to agree with you there. Pepper in a bad mood is something you do not want to see."

"Plus she cooks food for me," Peter added. Tony couldn't really find a fault with the kid's logic.

"If I told you that I would never cook for you again, would you always call me Tony?" He asked and Peter laughed slightly, putting his work on the workspace in front of him so he could chat to Tony properly.

"Probably," A smirk came across Peter's face again and if someone hadn't known if they were related or not, they may well have mistaken Peter for Tony's biological son because of the likeness of Peter's cocky face to Tony's.

"Fair enough," Tony ruffled Peter's hair affectionately again, causing Peter's smirk to vanish and a scowl to take it's place. Once again it was almost identical to Tony's facial expression when he was annoyed. "Anyway, I am glad you're eating more these days." It hadn't escaped his notice that Peter's eating habits had become a lot healthier since coming to live with him and Pepper.

"It was difficult when I lived at the compound," Peter shrugged, though they both knew that it wasn't the whole truth. It was true that mealtimes had been a bit hectic with everyone coming and going, but Peter also hadn't really bothered to even try to eat properly. "Things have been easy since moving."

"I'm glad kiddo," Tony smiled down at the boy that he had grown to see as his son. "I've got a meeting in New York this afternoon, do you want to come with me and spend the morning in the city?" Peter nodded.

"Sure," He said, beginning to pack his stuff away. "I could do with going to Delmar's, I haven't had a decent sandwich since..." He broke off.

"It's a sandwich," Tony raised his eyebrow at Peter. "How great can it be?"

"How great can it be?" Peter sounded outraged. "They're the best sandwiches in the world."

"Well, I'll just have to try one and see," Tony told him. "I'll leave a message for Pepper so that she knows where we are. You get ready kiddo."

"Could you teach me to learn at some point?" Peter asked, as they got into one of Tony's flashy Audis. "To drive I mean? If it's not too much bother of course." He added quickly.

"You haven't got your license yet?" Tony asked. "I thought you turned 16 ages ago."

"No point in getting a license when we didn't even have a car," Peter shrugged. "And then I just kind of forgot."

"Of course I'll teach you kiddo," Tony told him as he started the engine. "I'll drive for now, but I'll take you out tomorrow." A smile spread across Peter's face.

"Thanks," He said, leaning back on the sit as Tony sped the car up. "Isn't this over the speed limit?" He asked, frowning as the speedo went up to 150mph.

"I'm Tony Stark," Tony laughed. "A speeding ticket is hardly going to make me go bankrupt." Peter chuckled slightly, watching as they increased to 200.

* * *

"Peter!" Delmar said cheerfully as Peter walked in, Tony trailing behind him. "I saw you on the news the other day. Is it true you're living with To-" He broke off when he realised that Tony Stark had come in with Peter.

"Hey," Peter smiled. "The usual for me please."

"Um, I'll have what he has," Tony said, walking to the counter so he was standing next to Peter.

"Haven't seen you round here in a while," Delmar said to Peter as he began making their order.

"I moved out of the city," Peter shrugged before grinning mischievously. "Cómo está tu hija?" Tony smirked at that slightly, but Delmar froze suddenly, stopping what he was doing.

"Muerta," He murmured, more to himself Peter.

"Lo siento," Peter whispered, cursing himself for being so stupid. Delmar continued with the sandwiches, though he didn't keep up the usual banter that he had with Peter. Tony's phone began ringing and he answered and panic came over his face.

"It's Pepper," He told Peter, his voice sounding uncharacteristically nervous. "She's in labour."

* * *

_**I hope you enjoy and I would love to know what you think.**_


	10. Chapter 10

"What do I do?" Tony asked, panicking, running his hand through his hair. "It's too early. We were planning on going to the compound when it was due so a midwife could get there easily."

"Can you not just fly in one of your suits and fly her to the city in the jet?" Peter asked, trying not to smirk at the fact that Tony who was normally so cool and collected was now panicking so much that he couldn't think straight.

"I'll meet you at the compound kid," Tony said, tapping the arc reactor attached to his chest so a suit of armour appeared around him and he ran out the shop before flying off. Delmar placed the sandwiches on counter and Peter grabbed them before placing a crumpled $10 bill on the counter and rushing out. It was a long run to the compound and he couldn't just put his Spider-man suit on because of the Accords and Ross.

* * *

"I'll grab you some water," Bruce said as Peter rushed into the compound. Sweat was pouring down his forehead he was panting heavily.

"Thanks," Peter said, leaning against the wall. "Pepper and Tony already here?" Bruce nodded.

"About half an hour ago," He told him. "The midwife was already here and she's in the med bay with Pepper now. So far, so good." Peter breathed a sigh of relief, he had grown close to Pepper in these past few months. "Tony and Nat are both with her now." Peter nodded, following Bruce through to the kitchen.

"Any idea how long it'll be?" Peter asked gratefully gulping down the glass of water that Bruce passed him. Bruce shrugged.

"Everyone's different, I'm sure they'll tell you when something happens," He replied. "There's a chair in the corridor outside the med bay for you." Peter nodded once again and began heading there, pulling his sandwich out his bag. He hadn't had the time to eat it on the way. It felt weird to be back at the compound. It seemed a lifetime ago that Tony offered to look after him. It seemed even more lifetimes ago that Tony had first invited him to the compound to become an avenger.

Peter often wondered what his life would have been like if he accepted Tony's offer. At the time he had thought that the offer was a test, but he found out later it wasn't. Would he have even ended up in space? Would he have fought better because of the extra training that he would've had? Would it have made a difference?

He sighed slightly. There was no point thinking about that. He couldn't change what had happened. No one could. He would do anything to change what happened. Anyone would.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting there when he looked up expectantly as the door open and Tony walked out. Peter opened his mouth to speak but Tony was already talking. "She kicked me out," He folded his arms like a little kid. "Apparently I'm too obnoxious." Peter snorted slightly as Tony paced anxiously.

* * *

"Argh!" Pepper screamed as a new wave of pain hit her.

"Come on Pep," Tony said, stroking the hair off her face, hoping to be of some comfort to his wife.

"Push," The midwife told Pepper as beads of sweat ran down her forehead.

"Gas," She panted. "I need-" But she cut off as a fresh wave of pain came over her.

"You're doing great Pep," Tony whispered. "Just breathe, in and out." Natasha smirked slightly as she saw Pepper's reaction. She strode quickly to dampen a cloth to wipe the sweat from Pepper's forehead.

"I know how to breathe!" Pepper screamed. "Do not tell me how to breathe Anthony Edward Stark. If I am capable of stopping you from burning a house down, I can breathe on my own."

"Here you go," Natasha wiped Pepper's forehead gently. "Not long now."

"See here that Peps, we're gonna be holding our baby really soon," Tony said, but Pepper wasn't having it.

"Get out!" She screamed. "Tony get out. Why did I marry such an obnoxious man?" The midwife gestured for Tony to listen and Natasha took Tony's place by Pepper.

"Here," The midwife passed Pepper the mask to breathe in gas which she held up to her face and breathed into gratefully.

"You're doing great," Natasha told Pepper soothingly, still wiping the sweat from Pepper's forehead. "Just imagine that baby."

"Why did I ever want a kid?" Pepper groaned. "Stupid Tony. He's not the one that had to go through this."

"I know," Natasha said softly. "Men are idiots."

"How much longer?" Pepper asked the midwife.

"It shouldn't be long now," Pepper groaned at this and Natasha squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Squeeze my hand," She told her.

"Pepper, I need you to push with the next contraction," The midwife told her and she nodded, bracing herself.

"Take more gas if you need it," Natasha reminded her. "You can do this."

* * *

"You're gonna wear the floor out if you carry on," Peter smirked at Tony slightly as he carried on pacing, always staring at the door that he had come out of.

"I'm a billionaire," Tony said. "I can afford to get new flooring in here." Though the pacing did stop. Instead he took the chair next to Peter and began jogging his leg up and down.

"How's she doing?" Peter asked, anxious to know.

"She was screaming her head off at me," Tony replied, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair until Peter pushed it gently, annoyed by the noise he was making.

"Some things never change then," Peter smirked.

"I guess not kid," Tony said. "It just... it kills me. Seeing her in pain and not being able to do a thing about it."

"She'll be fine," Peter tried to reassure him, though judging on the still panicked expression on Tony's face, he wasn't helping much. "It's Pepper. She could survive the zombie apocalypse."

"You know a zombie apocalypse is never going to happen," Tony told him, laughing slightly. "It would just never happen."

"It could," Peter argued. "Maybe not that dramatic, but a disease like rabies could spread."

"You watch too many films kiddo," Tony laughed.

"Yeah but at least I know how to survive a zombie apocalypse if there is one," Peter pointed out and Tony raised his eyebrow.

"What you'd go to the country and live off rabbits that you catch in snares?" He snorted. Peter rolled his eyes slightly.

"Don't be stupid," Peter smiled. "Stay in the city. Everyone goes to the countryside so it'd be difficult to survive. Just get some friends and live in a supermarket."

"Except you won't," Tony smiled at the kid fondly. "You're spider-man, you'd be swinging through the city saving everyone's butts from the zombies."

"And I'd have Iron Man helping me," Peter smirked and Tony ruffled his hair affectionately. Tony rose from his seat suddenly as he saw the door open and Natasha walk out.

"She's doing fine," Natasha said immediately before Tony could get a word in. "It won't be long now and she wants you there." Without saying a word Tony rushed in and Natasha closed the door and took the seat that he had been sitting on. "How's life been since moving out then?" Peter shrugged uncomfortably.

"It's been..." He trailed off unsure of what to say. It didn't seem right to say good. How could things be good when half the universe was dead?

"I know what you mean," Natasha said, giving him a half smile. Peter turned his head back so he was staring at his lap. He didn't speak to Natasha much when he was living at the compound and he knew about her past. He just wasn't sure what to make of her yet. "I watched some footage of you on YouTube. You're pretty good you know, for a kid."

"I'm not a kid," Peter said defensively and Natasha chuckled slightly.

"I guess not," Natasha sighed. She knew that despite his age, he wasn't really a kid. He, like so many others, had had his childhood ripped from him when Thanos came. "What I mean is, if you ever want some training. You're pretty good with those web shooters, but your fighting style could use refining." Peter wasn't sure what to say. It was an honour to have the Black Widow offer to train him.

"I'd like that," Peter stammered eventually. "I didn't realise you knew Pepper that well." Peter said after a few minutes of silence. He had never seen Natasha at Pepper and Tony's house, but Pepper and Natasha must've been close for Natasha to have been in the delivery room with her.

"We got on well, even before Pepper knew I worked for SHIELD," Natasha explained. "We mainly bonded over our exasperation for Tony's lack of common sense and general ability to take care of himself." Peter smirked slightly at that, having heard all about Tony's bad habits. According to Pepper, he had improved a lot since Peter had come to live with them. He didn't want to set a bad example for Peter.

Several more minutes passed, Peter becoming more and more anxious. He had no idea how long labour usually lasted. When would the baby be born. Natasha saw Peter's restlessness and smiled slightly. "We could train together for a bit now if you want," She offered. "To take your mind off it."

"Thanks," Peter smiled gratefully, standing up. He followed Natasha down a series of corridors until they reached a room that looked like his school gym, but the floor was slightly padded.

"Defend yourself," Natasha told him, holding her fists up, ready to attack. "Let's see how you fight without your web shooters." Peter nodded nervously. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to stand his ground without his suit and shooters. His spider senses suddenly began going off, alerting him to the fact that she was about to attack. He ducked as she threw the first punch. He managed to duck the next volley of punches that came his way.

Then his spider senses began going off left, right and centre as Natasha sped up her attacks. He tried to flip as she brought her leg back to kick him in the ribs, but a punch caught him off balance and he slipped onto the ground, landing on his butt. He was suddenly very glad that the floor was padded. "You can't go easy on me? I had to run from the city to the compound earlier."

"Not my problem," Natasha shrugged emotionlessly. "You don't know when you'll need to be ready for a fight." She held up her hand to help Peter back up. "10 seconds isn't bad for a first attempt though. Without his suit, Tony only managed 7." That made Peter feel slightly better about himself, until he dodged once more as the volley of attacks began again.

* * *

"The head's born," The midwife announced and Pepper smiled, sighing with relief slightly.

"You hear that Peps?" Tony smiled, wiping the sweat from her brow away. "Nearly there."

"Push on the next contraction," Pepper was told. "As hard as you can." Pepper nodded, just wanting it to be over.

"Argh!" She screamed but the expression of pain and anguish vanished from her face soon after as the sound of baby wails filled the room.

"I did it," She smiled up at Tony.

"You sure did, my beautiful wife," Tony lightly kissed the top of Pepper's head.

"Congratulations," The midwife told them, wrapping their baby up in a towel. "You have a girl."

"A girl," Tony smiled. "I bet she'll look just like you."

"As long as she doesn't have your addiction to coffee," Pepper joked as the midwife passed her the baby to hold. Pepper smiled down at her baby, putting her finger in the baby's small fist.

"Hello Morgan," A beam came over Tony's face as he set eyes on his daughter. He knew that those dark brown eyes would likely be the death of him.

"I'm still not sure about that name," Pepper objected.

"But I had that dream," Tony reminded her. "How many more times do I have to persuade you?" Tony laughed.

"I really hate you sometimes Tony," Pepper said, though there was no venom behind her words.

* * *

_**I'm not a medical expert so Pepper giving birth probably wasn't that realistic because the only thing I had to go off is Call the Midwife. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys.**_


	11. Chapter 11

"You wanna meet your little sister?" Tony asked, sticking his round the training room door. Distracted, Peter slipped the landing of the flip that he was doing to evade an attack from Natasha. He landed on his butt, wincing slightly as Natasha offered him a hand up.

"Is everything okay?" Peter asked, running over anxiously and Tony nodded, unable to stop smiling.

"I wouldn't be here if they weren't," Tony clapped his arm around Peter's back as they walked to the med bay, Natasha following close behind. Peter smiled the whole way at the fact that Tony referred to the baby as his little sister. Tony thought of him as his son.

"Will you all be staying for a few days so that Pepper can rest for a while?" Natasha asked, knowing that Tony probably wouldn't want to spend the next few nights in the med bay. Natasha knew that he wouldn't sleep if he didn't have a proper bed and it wasn't healthy for him to survive off just coffee. He would be having a lot of sleepless nights soon anyway.

"Yeah, it'll be easier for Peps," Tony said as they reached Pepper's bed. "Hey Morgan." He bent down, looking at the small baby wrapped in a soft white blanket, resting in Pepper's arms.

"Hello," Peter smiled down at Morgan.

"Do you wanna hold her?" Tony offered and Peter nodded eagerly, though he was slightly nervous as Tony put her in his arms, showing him how to support his head properly. He'd never been around a baby, let alone held one. He didn't want to do anything wrong and hurt her by accident. One look into her dark eyes told him that she would be the death of him.

"Hey Morgan," He whispered softly, rocking her slightly. "I'm your big brother," He told her quietly. "And I promise you, if you need anything that mummy and daddy won't get you, I'll help." Tony and Pepper laughed slightly at that.

"If my daughter needs anything, I'll get her it," Tony told Peter, ruffling his hair affectionately. "In fact I think that I'm going to buy an alpaca to celebrate Morgan's birth."

"You are not buying an alpaca," Pepper told him, rolling her eyes at his erratic behaviour. "Why on earth do you want an alpaca?"

"Why not?" Tony shrugged in reply. "I'm going to buy an alpaca and name it Gerald."

"Why did I not marry a normal guy?" Pepper asked, half to herself.

"I keep telling you," Natasha smiled. "You should've dumped him years ago."

Peter looked out the window anxiously as he saw Tony helping Pepper out of the car. A week had passed since Morgan was born. Tony had brought Peter back the previous day so that they could begin to get things ready for Morgan and Pepper returning. He opened the door for them, smiling. "I made dinner for us," He said. He hoped everything was cooked properly. He'd never made a meal without help.

"Smells great kid," Pepper smiled. "Just what I need. The avengers are great, but they really don't know how to cook."

"Morgan started sleeping on the way back so we shouldn't be interrupted," Tony told Peter. "Pepper you just sit down, me and the kid'll dish up."

"I already set the table," Peter said quickly. "It should only be a couple more minutes until it's done." Pepper nodding, smiling as she slipped into her seat, slipping her seat.

"Thanks," Pepper said gratefully. "What do you say about a movie night tonight?" The grin on Peter's face gave her the reply. "Star wars?" She asked, knowing Peter. Tony groaned as he walked back into the room.

"You know after you made that Star Wars reference in Germany, I actually watched one of them," Tony told Peter. "Biggest waste of time in my life." Peter sighed dramatically at this revelation.

"It is not a waste of time," Peter argued. "They're the best films of all times."

"You can sleep outside tonight," Tony told Pepper jokingly.

"Vetoed," Pepper said immediately. "I agree with Peter, Star Wars is a great film franchise." Tony rolled his eyes, folding his arms.

"You're all against me," He huffed. "It's not fair."

"Aww is the great Tony Stark having a sulk?" Pepper teased as Peter took the lasagne out of the oven.

"It's not my fault you gang up on me," He protested.

"Finally," Pepper sighed as she settled Morgan down to sleep. She had been crying for what seemed for ever and Pepper was starting to think that she would never stop. A combination of quiet whispering and gentle rocking as she paced the kitchen finally coaxed Morgan to sleep.

"Is it alright if I invite Liz and Tobias to come round tomorrow?" Peter asked and Pepper nodded, yawning slightly.

"I'll make sure I cook for two extra at dinner then," Pepper told him.

"Thanks," Peter smiled, pulling his phone out to ping off a text to Liz as Tony walked into the room. Tony's eyes widened in shock as he saw the phone in Peter's hand. He clutched his chest, gasping.

"What's the matter?" Pepper asked immediately, concerned that that there was something wrong with his heart. Despite the lack of arc reactor in his chest, she still worried about his health.

"He-he," Tony stammered, pointing at the phone in Peter's hand. "What is that?" He strode over, pulling the phone, staring aghast at the cracked screen.

"Tony," Pepper sighed, realising that nothing was wrong. "To be quit frank, I don't care about Peter's phone. If it's too smashed up to use, just get a new one. It's not that difficult." Tony turned and rolled his eyes.

"But it's-it's-" He kept stammering as Peter pulled the phone back from Tony's hand so that he could send his message.

"What?" He asked, his fingers flying across the screen, tapping away quickly.

"You don't have a Stark phone," Tony managed to get out eventually. It was Pepper's turn to roll her eyes at this and Peter sighed.

"The kid does not need a Stark phone," Pepper reminded him and a frown came over his face.

"But look at that junk in his hand, when he could have the latest technology." Tony protested and once again Pepper rolled her eyes, before turning to Peter.

"Would you like a Stark phone?" She asked him and Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Tony had already replied for him.

"I wasn't talking to you," Pepper laughed slightly at her husband's arrogance. She caught Peter's eye once more.

"I'd like one, if it's not too much bother," Peter replied and Tony whooped like a little kid.

"Shh," Pepper hissed quickly, gesturing towards where Morgan was sleeping. "If you wake her up, you will be responsible for changing her for the next month." Tony winced slightly at this threat, knowing that she was being deadly serious.

"Sorry," He whispered and Peter sniggered slightly. Tony turned back to Peter. "Anyway, I remember promising to teach a certain spiderling to drive." He said, clapping an arm around Peter's back. "Fancy going for a spin for a few hours?" An eager smile came over Peter's face. He hoped that Tony would have a lot of patience. He hadn't seen the footage of Spider-man driving at homecoming and Peter hoped that he never would.

"I'll get the keys," Peter grinned, rushing to the door, eager to get out on the open road.

"Woah, hang on kid," Tony said, causing him to stop at the doorway, looking back, his eyes still bright with delight at the prospect of Tony teaching him how to drive. "You're not getting your hands on one of my flashy cars, get the keys of one of the older ones." He smirked slightly. He had a feeling that he would need a lot of patience for teaching Peter and he didn't want any of his precious Audis ending up a heap of scrap. Peter blushed slightly, knowing that there would be a lot of jokes made about his driving to come.

"This isn't so bad," Peter smiled a while later, pressing his foot down harder on the accelerator as they sped along the open road. He glanced down at the dashboard and saw that he was heading towards 120mph and he smiled slightly before turning his eyes to the road once more. Tony drew in a sharp breath, his heart pounding as he saw a curve in the road approaching.

"Kid," He said, his voice terse. "Now would be a great time to slow it a bit." Peter glanced over to his mentor, surprised that he sounded so anxious. Tony drove way too fast all the time. "Eyes on the road and slow down." Peter realised from his tone that he was serious and quickly took his foot off the gas and moved it to the brake, pressing down on the pedal sharply. The car slowed quickly, causing Tony to drew another sharp breath. "Not that suddenly, what if there had been another car behind us?"

"There's not though," Peter's cocky response came and Tony had to bite back the smile that was spreading across his face from the fact that the kid was picking up his mannerisms. "Besides, you go much faster than that."

"I've been driving a lot longer than you," Tony argued. "Driving out here won't help you that much anyway. Head for the city and we can grab a snack before heading back." Peter nodded, letting his foot off the brake and back onto the gas so he sped up slightly again.

"_Hello Morgan," Tony smiled down at his daughter as he held her close to his chest, rocking her slightly. "Hey, it's okay." He whispered to her as she began to cry._

"_It's no good," He spun round, holding his daughter protectively. He knew that voice. It wasn't possible. Thanos held his hand up, all the infinity stones in the gauntlet. "I am inevitable." _

"_No!" Tony yelled, as Thanos snapped his fingers before vanishing. "No, it can't be happening. Not again," He whispered, before looking down at Morgan. "No-no-no." He said as he saw her face begin to flake away._

"_It's your fault," Pepper was suddenly standing in front of him. "Half the universe is dead. My daughter is growing up in a world that was born from your failure. You don't deserve her. It's better for her to die, than have you as her father."_

"_No," Tony whispered, hoping that Pepper was saying the truth. _

"_You'll be worse than your own dad," She told him, his words cutting like a knife right through him. "She'll hate you."_

"Tony, Tony," He moaned grumpily, rolling over, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Pepper began shaking him awake. "Tony."

"What?" He asked, slumping on his back,wiping the sweat off his forehead as he did. Then the nightmare came flooding back to him. "Morgan!" He said quickly, sitting up, looking around the room in the dark for the cot. "Is she okay?" Pepper nodded, wrapping her arm around him comfortingly.

"She's sleeping," She told him. "Go look for yourself." Tony slipped out the bed, shivering at the cold air. Relief washed over him as he saw her sleeping, as Pepper said that she would be. "Tony? What's going on? What was the nightmare about?"

"I-" Tony began, running his hand through his hair as he stared down at his daughter. "It was nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing," Pepper replied. "Honey you were tossing and turning and I was trying to wake you up for several minutes before you woke." Tony sighed.

"Mr Stark, if I could interrupt," F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice came through. Pepper stared anxiously at her husband, who was relieved by the distraction that had come his way.

"Go ahead Fri," He told her, joining Pepper in the bed once more.

"Mr Parker is experiencing a nightmare," F.R.I.D.A.Y told him and he got off the bed once more.

"I'm on my way," Tony said. "Just go back to bed Peps."

"You don't want me to go?" Pepper asked, concerned for her husband.

"It's fine," Tony tried to reassure her. "I wouldn't have got back to sleep anyway." He walked the short distance from his and Pepper's room to the kid's room. Peter looked up as he saw Tony come in.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y," He said grumpily. "I told you not to bother him."

"It wasn't a bother," Tony told the teen, sitting on the bed next to him. "You're never a bother to me."

"It was just a stupid dream," Peter told him, looking up at the older man. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Tony told him. "Talk to me, what was it about."

"I'm fine," Peter lied again. "Just go back to bed. I didn't mean for you to get woken up."

"I wasn't asleep," Tony said, putting his arm round Peter gently. "I had just woken up from a nightmare."

"Did you talk about it?" Peter asked, annoyed that Tony wanted him to talk about his nightmare. "To Pepper?"

"Didn't get chance," Tony admitted.

"So why do I have to tell you about mine?" He asked.

"How about I tell you about mine, you tell me about yours?" Peter narrowed his eyes at Tony's proposal. He hadn't really heard Tony talk about his feelings before. He didn't deal with emotions very well.

"You first," He said eventually.

"I was with Morgan and then there was Thanos. He snapped. Morgan... she..." Tony trailed off, unable to say the word die. "And then Pepper was there. She blamed me for everything. Said I would be worse than my dad at a parent."

"You're a good parent," Peter said eventually after several moments of silence. "Anyone can see it, the way you are with Morgan."

"Thanks kiddo," Tony ruffled his hair slightly. "Now come on, you're not getting away with complimenting me and hoping that I'll forget about your dream."

"The same as usual," Peter shrugged, looking down at his lap where he was twiddling his thumbs.

"The usual?" Tony said questioningly. "F.R.I.D.A.Y, why was I not told about these nightmares?"

"Mr Parker did not wish for me to inform you," F.R.I.D.A.Y's response came and Peter winced when he saw Tony's expression.

"Change the protocols so that whenever Peter has a nightmare, I am told," Peter rolled his eyes at Tony's protectiveness. "Regardless of his wishes on the matter."

"You don't need to do that Tony," Peter protested. "I'm fine."

"Stop telling me that," Tony told him. "We both know that it's not true. Now tell me what the nightmare was about."

"May," Peter whispered, out of excuses to stall for any longer. "She and Uncle Ben were there. They said it was my fault." He didn't need to say what 'it' was. He knew that Tony would know. "Said that I was a time bomb. Everyone that's ever looked after me has died."

"Kiddo," Tony began. "None of that's your fault."

"Ben was my fault," Peter said. He'd never told anyone about it. "I had my powers. I saw the man with the gun. Ben would've never been there if it weren't for me. And all I could do was bleed to death."

"You're a kid," Tony told him. "You were then and you still are. None of this stuff is you're responsibility. That guy with the gun, and Thanos."

"But I'm spider-man," Peter started but Tony held his finger up to shush him.

"No, you're Peter Parker, a teenager who shouldn't have a care in the world," Tony told him. "You can't blame yourself for this stuff."

"Do you blame yourself for Thanos?" Peter asked, deflecting the topic of conversation from himself. Tony sighed, knowing what Peter was doing.

"Yes, but I shouldn't," Tony replied. "You shouldn't have been fighting kiddo. You weren't an avenger."

"You made me one though," Peter argued, folding his arms in a fake strop. "On the way to Titan."

"You're not even an adult," Tony rolled his eyes. "You've never trained with us. Besides, we're not really operating as a team anymore. We never go on missions together, they all just live at the compound and train together."

"You're so over dramatic," Peter laughed slightly. "The avengers always comes together when the world needs it."

"That's true," Tony couldn't deny it. "Anyway, you should probably try and catch a couple of hours sleep." Peter shook his head in reply.

"I can never get back to sleep after a nightmare," Tony looked at him, as if deciding if the argument was worth it.

"Neither can I," Tony told him. "I'm pretty sure we've got popcorn in though and we can watch Star Wars."

"I thought you hated Star Wars," Peter grinned leaping up and heading for the door.

"I do," Tony smiled at the teen's enthusiasm. "You're just lucky that I love you a lot more than I hate Star Wars." Peter froze, mid-step at this. Tony loved him? He knew that they had grown close over the past few months, but he never thought that... There was only one response that he thought was appropriate.

"I love you too Tony," He said, and he knew that he meant every word.

* * *

_**Sorry this chapter took a while, but it was longer than usual so I hope that makes up. I have a few ideas for the next couple of chapters, but if you have any ideas for small sub-plots, I would love to hear them and if they work I can definitely weave them in :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

"Hello little one," Natasha smiled, picking Morgan up before turning to Tony. "She's adorable you know."

"Of course I know," Tony said smugly. "Any child of mine would have good looks."

"Hopefully she won't have your arrogance," Natasha rolled her eyes slightly. "Oh hi Peter." She said as Peter came through the door behind her. Peter looked in confusion at Natasha, wondering how she knew that he had come into the room when she hadn't even been facing the door.

"How did-" Peter began and Tony chuckled.

"She's a spy," Tony reminded him. "You get used to her paying a freakish amount of attention to her surroundings."

"It's called being observant," Natasha rolled her eyes. She kissed the top of Morgan's head gently. "Your daddy can be stupid at times, and if he's ever stupid to you, just come to your Aunty Nat." Tony smiled sadly across at Natasha. This reminded him of when Clint had introduced the avengers to his family. He had never realised until then how good she was with kids.

"You miss them don't you?" He said softly and Natasha gave a quick nod. He hadn't needed to say who 'them' were. They both knew he was talking about Clint and his family. Peter opened his mouth to ask who Tony was talking about, but before he could ask, Tony gave him a slight shake of the head. Peter realised it was a sensitive topic and quickly shut his mouth again. Natasha turned Peter.

"You were pretty good the other day when we sparred," She told him. "If you're ever in the city and I'm free I can train you if you want."

"Uh, thanks," Peter said nervously. Although he had got to know her a little from living at the compound, she was still pretty intimidating. "Though I'm not sure there's much point. It's not like I can go out on patrol."

"I'm working on it kiddo," Tony reminded him, walking over to him and ruffling his hair.

"What's this?" Natasha asked, putting Morgan down.

"Ross," Tony sighed and Natasha rolled her eyes. Of course. She had managed to make a deal with the US government so they got off her case about the accords. Technically she had signed the accords, which made things easier. Clint had disappeared, where exactly no one knew, but she knew that he was alive. She visited his house after they had killed Thanos. She had found some of his things gone, but Laura and the kids' stuff hadn't been touched. Steve was the only other that hadn't signed the accords that wasn't dead. He had had more issues than Natasha at becoming legal, but had made a deal with the government so that he could still operate in the US, just not abroad. "He wants Spider-man to sign the accords, which of course completely defeats the point of a secret identity."

"We'll sort it out," Natasha told Peter. "If all else fails, we can dig up some dirt on him and blackmail him." Tony nodded in agreement. To hell with the law, Peter was his kid and if he wanted to go out and be Spider-man, he could go out and be Spider-man. Peter's eyes widened at this.

"I mean, you don't-" He stammered and Tony laughed.

"Don't worry kiddo, it won't come to that," He told him. Pepper walked into the room and glared at Tony.

"Thanks for telling me Nat had arrived," She said, as her and Nat exchanged smiles at Tony's scatter brain. "Did he bother asking if you wanted a drink or anything."

"Coffee would be great," Natasha smiled and Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony's lack of manners as she went to the kitchen.

"I'd like a coffee too," Tony said hopefully as she left.

"Make it yourself," Pepper called. "Peter, do you want anything?"

"Can I have a coffee?" He asked but Tony immediately shut him down.

"You're too young to be living off coffee," He said quickly. Peter rolled his eyes at this and turned to Pepper.

"Don't worry, I won't stop you unless you begin being like Tony and start drinking it for breakfast, lunch and dinner," Pepper laughed.

"I don't have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner," He argued and Natasha laughed at his childish tone.

"Fri, how many cups of coffee has Tony had today?" Pepper asked.

"Five and three quarters," F.R.I.D.A.Y put in quickly. "The other quarter was split on the floor when he tripped in the lab after nearly mixing the wrong chemicals." Peter sputtered with laughter at that and Nat laughed.

"I'm gonna rewrite you," Tony muttered threateningly to F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"Have you guys at the compound got any plans for thanksgiving?" Pepper asked a few minutes later when Peter and Natasha had their coffees. Tony had tried to steal Peter's, but a quick whack round the head from Natasha soon got him to stop.

"I don't know," She shrugged. "No one's mentioned it." She remembered the last thanksgiving. She had been on the run with the rest of the rogue avengers. She had missed not spending it with all the avengers like they normally did on thanksgiving. "I guess we haven't really got a lot to be thankful for."

"You're always welcome to join us," Pepper told her. "We'll probably just have a meal, nothing fancy."

"I'd like that," Natasha smiled.

* * *

"Mr Stark, Mr Parker is experiencing a nightmare," F.R.I.D.A.Y said, as Tony sat up blearily.

"Huh?" He mumbled, half asleep.

"Let me," Pepper told him, knowing that Tony wasn't sleeping well. Tony shook his head.

"I-" Tony said, not wanting to offend Pepper, but he was closer to the kid. Peter barely spoke to him, he doubted he would open up to Pepper. "He doesn't like talking about them with me." Pepper nodded, immediately understanding.

"Go help our kid Tones," Pepper told him, squeezing his arm gently. Tony got up and was soon in Peter's room, shaking him awake.

"Hey kiddo," Tony stroked Peter's messy hair from out of his face. Peter startled awake, flinging his arms out, thinking he was being attacked. "It's me kiddo, it's just me." Peter sighed with relief when he realised that it was just a nightmare.

"I'm fine," He said after a couple of moments. "I'm fine Mr Stark, you don't need to worry about me." Tony raised his eyebrow, leaning forward to wipe the tears that had been falling from eyes when he was asleep.

"Sure you are," He said sarcastically. "Come on Underoos, talk to me." Peter shook his head adamantly. "These nightmares aren't gonna stop if you ignore them."

"They might," Peter said stubbornly as Tony put his arm around him.

"We both know that's not true kiddo," He told him. "Talking helps, I promise." But Peter shook his head adamantly. "Please kiddo, I just want what's best for you."

"Then why did you take my suit?" He asked, shaking Tony's arm off him, despite wanting to lean into him. Tony sighed.

"That was a mistake," Tony told him. "I shouldn't have done that. I'd never do that again."

"I didn't need it," Peter told him. "I got out from that building alone and still took Toomes down."

"Building?" Tony asked sharply. "What do you mean building?"

"The one that Toomes collapsed on me," Peter said, surprised that Tony didn't know about it. "He collapsed a building on me before he tried raiding your plane," Peter shrugged. "I got out though and chased him down." Tony stared at him, wondering why he was acting like a building collapsing on him was nothing.

"How did I never find out about this?" He asked, putting his arm back round Peter who shrugged in response.

"The main fight was away from the building. I doubt anyone made the connection between the plane crash and the collapsed building," Peter replied. "I got out though. I managed to lift the rubble off and escape from under it."

"You lifted a collapsed building from on top of you without a suit?" Tony asked, his eyes wide in fear at the thought of his kid doing that. Peter nodded. "Is that what your nightmares are about?" He asked. Peter shrugged.

"Sometimes," He said softly, looking at Tony in the eye. "Not as much recently. More before...Thanos."

"You had nightmares before?" Tony asked sharply. He hadn't realised that they had been going on that long. He felt bad that after Peter declined becoming an avenger, he hadn't really made that much of an attempt to mentor the kid. Sure he had given him a proper internship but they barely saw each other. Peter nodded.

"It's nothing," Peter told him.

"It's not nothing," Tony replied. "You should be able to sleep without being plagued by the past."

"That's not going to happen," Peter argued.

"It will kiddo," Tony ruffled Peter's hair affectionately. "If you just talk to me. I will come in here and talk to you at 3am every single morning if that's what it takes."

"I don't want to disturb you Mr Stark," Peter said immediately, but Tony put his finger on Peter's lips, stopping him from continuing.

"It's Tony," He reminded him. "And you're my kid, I'll stay up with you all night every night if I have to." Peter shifted uncomfortably at this. "Now, how about you tell me about the nightmare you where having just now?"

"We were back on Titan," Peter's voice came out less than a whisper after a few moment's pause. "And we were fighting... him again. Only this time Dr Strange didn't give up the stone and..." He trailed off. "He killed you." Peter's voice cracked at this and tears began coming down his face again. Tony sighed. He wished that there was a way to reassure the kid that he didn't need to worry about him. It was only natural thing for him to worry about Tony. First his parents. Then his uncle. Then his aunt. Of course he was scared of Tony dying.

"I'm right here kiddo," Tony said, pulling the kid closer into him. "Right here to annoy you." Peter chuckled slightly at that.

"I tried to stop it," Peter told him. "But I couldn't. I was too late. It was my fault. It was all my fault."

"It's not your fault," Tony argued, looking into his eye. "And it's me who should protect you, not the other way round."

"Doesn't stop me wanting to protect you," Peter admitted.

"I've been thinking kiddo," Tony said after a while of Peter snuggling into him. "I want to make this more official. Pepper and I never actually adopted you, just took guardianship. I was wondering if you wa-" Peter looked up at Tony in amazement.

"You want to adopt me?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Of course," Tony said immediately. "Only if you want to though," Tony added, smiling down at the boy.

"I want to," Peter said quickly, wrapping his arms around his mentor and soon-to-be father.

"I can start working on the paper work in the morning," Tony told him. "But for now, I think my little spiderling needs to get some rest." Peter shook his head.

"I can never get back to sleep," He told him. "I normally just watch a film or something."

"Well that stops now," Tony told him, standing up, still holding Peter. Despite his long gangly limbs, he was pretty light. "You can't get more than a couple of hours sleep a night if you don't get back to sleep." Peter struggled slightly in Tony's arms, embarrassed that Tony was holding him like he was a little kid. Tony deposited the kid on his bed.

"It's fine," Peter protested.

"I'll stay with you," Tony offered. "Until you sleep." Peter rolled his eyes, but scrambled under his duvet, closing his eyes and he felt Tony's lips brush his forehead softly. "Good night spiderling." He sat on the edge of Peter's bed, holding his hand so that Peter knew that he was still there. He stayed there for about half an hour before he heard Peter's quiet snores and he crept from the room, not wanting to disturb him.

* * *

**_I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys._**


	13. Chapter 13

"This looks great," Rhodey smiled as Pepper set the last dish down on the table. Only Rhodey and Natasha had come to spend thanksgiving out of the city. Steve hadn't wanted to intrude. Him and Tony had never really spoken about what happened in Siberia. Bruce had said that he was too busy working on some science project to come. Tony had tried asking about it. Normally bouncing ideas off each other helped both of them, but Bruce was being secretive about this project.

"It was all Peps," Tony smiled, putting his hand on the table and taking Pepper's, giving it a quick squeeze.

"Anyway, what was that alpaca I saw in the garden?" Rhodey asked. Natasha and Pepper exchanged a look and rolled their eyes. Peter laughed slightly and Tony just shrugged.

"That's Gerald," He told Rhodey. "Our pet."

"Our?" Pepper asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Er I mean, mine," Tony corrected immediately and Peter laughed again at how quickly Tony changed under Pepper's glaring eye. Rhodey joined in with Peter while Natasha flashed Pepper a sympathetic look.

"You could just divorce him," She told her jokingly.

"Hey!" Tony objected. "Just because you can't find someone as dashingly handsome and intelligent as me." Natasha arched her brow at him, not even bothering to grace him with a verbal response. Peter's stomach began rumbling loudly, reminding everyone of the meal sitting in front of them. Peter blushed slightly as everyone turned to look at him.

"Have you been starving the kid?" Rhodey joked.

"The kid's just got a fast metabolism," Tony explained. "Dig in everyone, no point in letting it go cold." A loud knock on the door stopped everyone from beginning though.

"Probably just Happy," Pepper said quickly. "He wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it." She stood up to let him in. She knew that today was always going to be difficult. Happy, though was always invited to spend the day with Pepper and Tony, had always spent thanksgiving with his family. Thanks to Thanos, this was the first thanksgiving Happy hadn't spent with his family.

"Sorry I'm late," Happy said apologetically as he came inside.

"Hey Happy," Peter waved at him as he shrugged his coat off.

"Just in time," Tony said, gesturing for Happy to take the vacant seat. "A minute later and my little spiderling would've decimated the food." Peter narrowed his eyes at the dig, but then shrugged it off, knowing that Tony was probably right.

* * *

Peter got up and crept out whilst everyone was distracted by the latest round of Mario Kart. It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable or anything. He had met both Rhodey and Nat a few times before so they were starting to get to know each other better. It all felt wrong though.

"_Happy thanksgiving Peter," Aunt May smiled, passing him a clumsily wrapped gift._

"_Thanks May," Peter smiled, taking it and unwrapping it carefully, taking his time. He knew Aunt May couldn't afford to get him much, especially with Christmas just round the corner, but they always got each other a small gift. He smiled as he saw the spider-man figurine beneath the wrapping paper. "This is awesome." He said, holding it up. He leapt up from his seat on the sofa to place it on a bare spot of shelf that was opposite the sofa. Ever since May found out he was spider-man, she had brought him spider-man themed things. It was her way of telling him that she was proud of him._

"_Here," He passed her the present that he had brought for her. It was in a well used gift bag that they always used to give each other gifts to save money on wrapping paper. She took it and smiled as she pulled out a mug from the tissue paper that it was nestled amongst in the bag. As she read the writing on the mug, her smile grew wider. World's Best Aunt._

A tear ran down Peter's face as he remembered the last thanksgiving. He slipped outside, walking to the edge of the lake, ignoring the icy wind that was biting against his face. He bent down to pick up a small roundish pebble, before throwing it across the lake, watching as it skimmed across the water. He sighed, picking up another. He remembered when Aunt May and Uncle Ben taught him to skim stones. They had gone to the beach for the day, but Peter had been disappointed because it was a rocky beach rather than a sand one so they'd shown him how to skim stones. He continued to skim stones, each throw getting wilder and wilder, until he was just chucking pebbles into the lake, watching the splashes get larger as he put more force into every throw.

"You okay, маленький паук _**(little spider)**_?" Peter jumped at the voice behind him. He hadn't thought anyone notice that he had left, or even heard anyone approaching. He wasn't sure if that was because Natasha was good at sneaking up on people, or because his spider senses didn't go off because she wasn't going to attack him.

"I only do Spanish, not Russian," Peter replied and Natasha smiled slightly as he turned to face her. He wasn't even sure it was Russian. He was just assuming that it was because he knew that she was originally from Russia.

"Pequeña araña," She translated into Spanish and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm taller than you," He protested and she laughed slightly.

"True," She agreed. "But you're also a kid."

"I'm not a kid, I'm nea-" She cut him off.

"You know someone's a kid when they say 'nearly' when talking about their age," She smirked. "You not cold out here?" Peter shrugged.

"You didn't need to come out here," He replied.

"I know," Natasha smiled softly. "We can train for a bit if you don't want to head back." She offered and he nodded in response. Being in there with everyone else... it made him feel guilty. He shouldn't be happy when half the universe was dead. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

"The training room's off the lab," Peter told Natasha, leading the way.

"Too much for you?" Natasha asked, looking at him in the eye. He shrugged.

"I can't remember the last thanksgiving I didn't spend with my aunt," He told her. "I can barely remember when my parents were still alive, so I don't even recall thanksgiving with my parents."

"I didn't celebrate my thanksgiving until I started working for SHIELD," She told him. "I wasn't even planning on it. Clint made me though. He invited me around his place and when I didn't show up, he came to my apartment, turkey in hand." Peter smiled slightly at this. The only time he had ever met Clint was in Germany. He had seen clearly how close Natasha and Clint had been though, despite fighting on opposite sides. "I hadn't wanted to celebrate it because I didn't have anything to be thankful for. Clint showed me I did."

"My aunt, my only living relative is dead," Peter closed the door behind them and Natasha raised her fists up in a defensive position.

"Family isn't blood you know," She reminded him.

"_Can we just get this over with?" Natasha rolled her eyes slightly. She didn't get why he was bothering with her. She owed him enough as it was, with him saving her life instead of killing her. _

"_We're doing this properly," Clint laughed at her annoyance._

"_Do you not have any family to do this with?" Natasha asked, raising her eyebrow as he dropped the saucepan that he was pulling from her cupboard. _

"_Nope," He popped the 'p' loudly. "My girlfriend's gone up state to spend thanksgiving with his family but I couldn't get the week off." He explained. "Anyway, family's not blood."_

"_If you don't stop annoying me, your blood will be all over the floor," Natasha threatened, glaring at him._

"_You know you love me, you don't need to keep pretending," Clint told her. Natasha didn't want to admit it, but she knew that he was partly right. She certainly didn't love him, but they were closer than she had ever got to anyone before._

"Am I allowed web shooters?" Peter asked, changing the topic of conversation, knowing that Nat was right.

"Only if you can get to the other side of the room without falling over," She said, running towards him to attack. His spider sense kicked off and he flipped over her, landing steadily on his feet smiling.

* * *

"Peter is having a nightmare sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice came through, making Tony jump slightly. He wasn't woken up by her, he had just been messing around on his phone.

"I can go," Pepper offered. Peter had been having nightmares almost every night, meaning that Tony was up most of the night, talking to him and sitting with him until he fell asleep again.

"Wait," Tony told her. "I want to see if he'll come to us," He explained. "I keep telling him to come to us, but I want to see if he will come."

"Okay," Pepper smiled. "He can sleep in here if it helps."

"Fri, tell me once it's been five minutes," Tony ordered.

"Of course sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y responded immediately. Five minutes came and passed and F.R.I.D.A.Y informed Tony.

"Go to sleep," He kissed Pepper quickly. "I may be a while."

"Good night Tony," Pepper said softly, watching as the door closed behind Tony.

"Fri, you're such a snitch," Peter sighed as he saw his bedroom door open.

"I apologise Peter, but Mr Stark has programmed to inform him whenever you're in distress," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied. Tony walked over to Peter's bed, smiling slightly at his son's annoyance.

"If you want someone to blame, it's not F.R.I.D.A.Y, it's me you have to blame," He told him. "Now what was this one about?" Peter rubbed his eye sleepily, shuffling over on the bed so that Tony could sit next to him.

"The usual," He shrugged. "My friends and family died. I couldn't save them."

"It will get better," Tony promised him. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but I promise."

"You don't need to get up every time I have a nightmare," Peter replied, leaning into Tony unconsciously as he wrapped an arm around him.

"How many times do we need to go through this kiddo?" Tony rolled his eyes. "You're worth it. Besides, if you come to my room, I won't need to get up."

"I don't want to disturb you," Peter argued. "They're just dumb dreams."

"Not if they're stopping you from sleeping," Tony told him. "Don't think I won't put another bed in our room and force you to sleep in there."

"You're so over-protective," Peter complained and Tony smiled at that.

"I don't care if I'm being over-protective," He replied. "Your health and happiness is my priority." Peter smiled slightly at that. Before Thanos he had Aunt May, but she wasn't often around so he mainly took care of himself. It was nice having Tony take care of him, even if it did make him feel like a burden on him.

"Will you stay with me?" Peter blurted out before he could stop himself. "Until I go back to sleep I mean." Tony smiled. It seemed he was finally making progress.

"Of course," Tony said, jumping up from the bed so Peter could lay back down. Peter was almost asleep when Tony's phone started buzzing from in his pocket. He quickly went to decline it by tapping on his watch.

"S'okay," Peter murmured sleepily. "I'm nearly asleep." Tony saw the caller ID and knew he would have to answer.

"See you in the morning kiddo," Tony whispered, kissing Peter's forehead gently. He accepted the call as soon as he got out the room. "Ross." He said.

"Stark," The voice came. "I've been thinking. You're going to get Spider-man to sign the accords."

"No," Tony's harsh voice replied. "He will not be signing the accords."

"Well I just got the paperwork right here, ordering the arrest of Mr Peter Parker if he doesn't sign," Ross laughed. "And I don't think you want him making a visit to the raft."

"How did you get the paperwork?" Tony demanded, pacing along the landing, worry racing through him. This shouldn't be possible. Peter wasn't going out as Spider-man anymore. He wasn't breaking the accords now.

"That's not important," Ross said. "Now will you get him to sign the accords or not?"

"Not," Tony said. He knew that Ross couldn't possibly have the right paperwork for Peter's arrest, the fact that he wouldn't tell Tony how he got them told him that. "And before you make some threat, remember that I am Iron Man, I wouldn't advise going against me."

"No of course not," Ross chuckled. "But remember I could reveal his identity at any moment."

"Not legally," Tony shot back quickly. He researched into it all as soon as he knew that Toomes knew who Peter really was. He was a minor and therefore information about him couldn't legally be published in the media.

"No, not legally," Ross agreed. "But I just thought I'd remind you that I will not give up until he has signed the accords."

"Goodbye," Tony said, pressing the end call button, before shoving his phone back in his pocket. He sighed running his hand through his hair. It seemed Ross was just calling to psyche him out. He didn't have any new information. Probably just wanted Tony to worry. "I thought I said not to wait." He said, seeing Pepper watching him as he came back into the bedroom.

"I heard you talking," Pepper said. "You sounded annoyed." Tony slid into bed next to Pepper, wrapping an arm round her as she moved so her head rested on his chest. She smiled slightly.

"It was Ross," He told her. "But it was nothing."

"And Peter was okay when you spoke to him?" She asked and Tony shrugged sadly.

"I don't think any of us will ever be okay again," He sighed. "But he's coping the best he can."

* * *

"Hey Pete, can you hold Morgan for a moment?" Pepper asked. "She won't stop crying and I need the toilet."

"Sure," Peter leapt up and took the screaming baby, beginning to pace back and forth, rocking Morgan gently to soothe her. He heard a loud and crash and his spider senses began to go haywire. "Shh, Morgan, I need to see what's happening." He whispered soothingly, putting her down in the cot that was kept in the kitchen.

"Don't move," A voice from behind him said and he turned round. A man was standing, pointing a gun at him and panic flooded through him. Normally he'd have no problem taking down a man with a gun, but Morgan was in the room and he didn't want her to get shot by accident. He wished now that he had spent more time training with Natasha.

"Fri," He whispered, hoping that she was already on it.

"We've disabled the AI," The man told him. "Now you're going to let me take that baby, or I'm gonna shoot you."

"Who do you work for?" Peter asked quickly, realising that they must want something from Tony.

"None of your business," He replied as two more armed men came in. "But we know who you are, Spider-man."

"So you work for Ross then," Peter guessed. "What does he want with Morgan?"

"He knows Tony will listen to him if he has leverage," One of the other men said. "Now move away from the cot."

"No," Peter said, wondering where Pepper was. Then he remembered the crash that had come before the door had been flung open and the men had entered. Hopefully they had only knocked her out. "Ross wants me doesn't he?" The men took a step closer ignoring the question. "This is about the accords isn't it?"

"Our orders are to get the girl,"

"Take me," Peter said, also taking a step forward. "It's me he wants. Leave her out of it." He nodded to the cot. Mr Stark would only make him sign the accords anyway if they took Morgan. He wouldn't risk the life of his daughter for Peter... for a nobody. He wasn't important. He wasn't even really family. He was just some kid that Tony felt obligated to take in. "I'll come quietly...just leave her alone." The men glanced at each other, before nodding. He put his hands up stepping closer as one of the men walked behind him. His senses went off again as he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and he saw black.

* * *

**_Just a quick disclaimer, I don't speak any Russian, so if the translation is wrong, sorry, I used google translate. Thank you for all your reviews, they're what keep me writing. I hope you don't hate me too much for leaving it on a cliff-hanger, hopefully the next update will be out in about a fortnight._**


	14. Chapter 14

Pepper groaned groggily, wondering where she was as she opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was opening the toilet door then something hit the back of her head and everything went black. Flailing her arms around, she tried to pull herself up, but the world span around her as so she gave up.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y?" She asked, wondering first of all what had happened, and second of all, why she hadn't managed to stop it.

"I'm sorry Pepper," The voice came. "A bug was planted in my system so I was down during the attack."

"Attack?" Pepper asked, putting her hand on the back of her head, groaning when she felt blood there. She looked at her fingers and bit her lip slightly at the bright red dripping from them.

"Four men entered the house with guns. One knocked you out whilst the others went to the kitchen. It appears that their intent was to get Morgan as leverage to get Peter to sign the accords, but Peter was there and they took him instead." Pepper groaned.

"Call Tony and tell him what happened," She said. He had left early in the morning, needing to go to a meeting in New York. "Is Morgan okay?"

"The men never even touched her," F.R.I.D.A.Y informed her. "Peter wouldn't let them near her." Pepper nodded. She couldn't help but feel helpless. She hadn't even done anything to stop her daughter being kidnapped. Instead she had been knocked out, unable to do anything until after the attack. "Mr Stark is calling, should I connect you?"

"Yes," Pepper murmured and Tony's panicking voice came through the room.

"Pepper, Pepper, are you okay?" He asked.

"I'll survive," She groaned. "But I probably need to go to a hospital, there's blood."

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can to get you to the med bay at the compound," Tony told her. "I'll call the avengers on the way."

"Thanks," Pepper whispered, trying to get up once more, this time more slowly. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them."

"It's not your fault Peps," Tony told her. "They would've had a well thought out plan. I don't think that it was a coincidence that I wasn't in the house at the time."

* * *

"What do we know then?" Natasha asked, staring at the video that F.R.I.D.A.Y had pulled up when she was back online. As soon as Tony had got Pepper to the med bay, he had gathered the avengers at the base. Tony sighed, looking around the room. It was a pitiful group compared to what it had used to be. It was just him, Natasha, Rhodey and Steve. Natasha said that Okoye might be able to help, but they needed details first. None of them had heard from Thor since he disappeared with the rest of the Asgardians to some corner of Scotland.

"It was Ross," Tony replied, picking up his mug of coffee and taking a large gulp. It was going to be a long few days. "He was trying to get Morgan, to blackmail me with."

"Is she okay?" Steve asked and Tony gave a small nod. He still didn't completely trust Steve. He doubted that he ever would after he had left him to die in Siberia.

"It's over the accords," He said, swiping the screen so that the video disappeared. "Peter agreed to go with them if they left Morgan alone."

"Do we know where they took him?" Rhodey asked.

"Fri couldn't track the plane, but odds are the kid's been taken to the raft," He sighed.

"That's no place for a kid," Steve commented and Tony looked at him in annoyance.

"Don't you think I know that?" He asked, his voice raising. "I have no idea what they're doing to him right now. And it's my fault." He paced the room angrily, rubbing his eye tiredly. Rhodey and Natasha exchanged looks and Rhodey walked over to him slowly.

"We'll get him back," He told him. Tony ignored him though and threw the mug across the room, watching as it smashed against the wall and coffee ran down it.

"Tony," Natasha said sharply. She knew what Tony got like when he felt guilty. "This isn't going to help Peter. You and Steve can fight this out afterwards. Let's focus on getting Peter back first." Tony sighed angrily but nodded slightly.

"Ross will be expecting us," He replied, beginning to pace once more. "Where's Bruce? We could use the big guy to cause a distraction." Natasha shook her head.

"I don't know," She sighed. "He's been so engrossed in his work. Says he's working on something big involving Hulk, but he's been travelling all over to do research for it. I asked where he was going but he said it was something he had to do alone." Once again Tony sighed, but Steve looked up thoughtfully.

"What if you paid a visit to Ross with a little gift?" Steve asked and everyone looked at him confused. "He's been looking for an excuse to arrest me since I came out of hiding. We can put together some evidence that make it look like I've broken the accords. I'm sure Okoye won't mind us having a small fight in Wakanda which your suit can record and prove I broke the agreement not to fight outside of the US."

"And then what?" Tony snapped, still not seeing how this would help Peter.

"I'll be locked up with him," Steve told him. "They'll have changed the layout of the raft since I broke the others out last time, but you can have a tracker on me. You keep Ross distracted and those two-" Here he nodded at Natasha and Rhodey. "Can get to me and I'll be locked up near Peter so we can get him and get out."

"That could work," Rhodey nodded in agreement. "We'll need to be careful and plan well."

"I don't like it," Tony muttered, crossing his arms, thinking hard.

"You don't like it because it's not you in charge of getting Peter out," Natasha said quickly, knowing exactly what Tony was thinking. "You know me and Rhodey won't let anything bad happen to him."

"I just..." Tony sighed.

"It's our best chance," Rhodey told him and he began nodding slowly.

"Maybe," He eventually replied. "But we need to get this right."

"We will," Rhodey said firmly. "We will rescue him."

"And we'll make sure that Ross pays for this," Natasha added and Steve nodded in agreement. The door opened and everyone turned to look at who walked in. Pepper was standing in the doorway and Tony immediately rushed over.

"What are you doing Peps?" He asked. "You should be resting." Pepper smiled slightly at her husband's protectiveness.

"I was cleared," She explained. "It was just a small bump, the blood made it look worse than it was."

"Good," Tony smiled. "We've started to get a plan together. You and Morgan should be safe here when we leave."

"You're leaving already?" Pepper asked, surprised that they were able to formulate a plan so quickly. Tony shook his head.

"We'll be a while," Tony told her. "But I just need to know that you'll be safe."

"It's you that will be in danger," Pepper reminded him. "I assume that Morgan's here?"

"I settled her in a cot in the other room," Natasha told her. "F.R.I.D.A.Y is set to tell us if she needs anything or if she wakes."

"Thanks," Pepper smiled as Tony turned back to the other three.

"Now, let's get Peter back," He said, pulling up plans of the raft onto the screen.

* * *

Blinking slowly, Peter wriggled around in his seat as he came round. He closed his eyes again, wincing. How did he end up here? Why was that light so bright? What happened? Tiredness ran through him, but he roused himself as the memories came back to him.

Confused, he opened his eyes once more. Why had the men knocked him out? He had agreed to come with them. His spider-senses were going into overload. It seemed like he was in the middle of a completely empty room apart from the chair he was tied to. There were no windows, no doubt done so that he didn't know how much time had passed, which also explained why he was knocked out. He had no idea how long he had been knocked out. How far he had been moved from Tony's place.

On the ceiling their was a light bulb, which was switched on, filling the room with brightness. This is what was causing Peter so much trouble with looking around. Whether it was just because he had been knocked out so long that the light seemed really bright, or they had put an extra bright one to make him dazed because of his spider-senses making it even bright, he didn't know. Either way, it took him several minutes of blinking to get used to the light.

He didn't know how much time passed before the door opened, but in that time he had struggled against the ropes that tied him and his throat was parched, partly from a lack of water and partly from yelling on the off chance that someone would come in. He looked up immediately as he heard the door opening, but he saw who he recognised to be Ross standing in the doorway and he stepped into the room.

* * *

**_I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think :)_**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Just a little warning, this chapter has scenes of torture in it, there's nothing too graphic, but I just thought that I'd warn you guys.**_

* * *

"Sir, the prisoner is awake," A guard informed Ross as he walked into his office.

"Good," He smirked, standing up at his desk. "We'll leave him stewing for a few hours, I doubt he's going to sign the Accords willingly."

"Of course sir," The guard nodded, turning round to walk back out again. Ross smirked, as his phone flashed and he saw the message pop up. Good. The fugitives, or rather the avengers as the government insisted on them being called again now, seemed to be doing as he thought. They knew that he would keep Peter on the raft, but what they didn't know was that work had been done on it since Rogers had broken the other fugitives out.

Another level had been added. Only a handful of people knew about it. Not even the government knew of its existence. They never would've approved the funding for it. He diverted funding from other projects into this and only had people that he was absolutely certain that he could trust working in the raft. This level was practically impenetrable. First to even get down the elevator to the right floor was an iris scan. After that a code had to be said, but there were only a handful of people with clearance level had their voice logged on the system so would be recognised. Plus whenever anyone was entering that wasn't Ross, he was immediately notified. No one was getting down there without him knowing.

A few hours passed before Ross finally left his office to pay the kid a visit. He had been watching the security cameras they had in the room. The extra bright light had seemed to daze him and there had been a few times when he had screamed out for help. He would be scared now. Easier to convince to sign the Accords. Good. People deserved to know what the freak was and how he was a danger to them.

Ross stared as Peter as he walked across the room to him, before stopping right in front of him. "It's good to finally meet you Spider-man."

"You know, if you were such a big fan of spider-man, you should've just asked for a photo and autograph, you didn't need to do this whole kidnapping thing," Peter retorted, glaring up at his captor. Ross chuckled slightly at that.

"It's funny you should mention autographs actually," He began as two guards came and stood in the doorway. "How about you just sign the Accords and then you can just go home? No one needs to get hurt."

"If you didn't want anyone to get hurt you wouldn't have gone after Morgan," Peter's eyes flickered nervously to the two armed guards in the doorway. Normally he wouldn't have a problem taking them on, but he was without his suit and tied up. It seemed he had no option but to keep them talking for as long as it took for Tony to find him.

At least he hoped Tony would find him. Maybe Tony would think that he was too much bother. After all, it was his fault that Morgan nearly got kidnapped. Maybe Tony's life would be easier without him. At least he had stopped Morgan from being hurt. It wasn't important if he was hurt. There was no one left who cared for him. May was dead. Ned was dead. There was no one left to mourn.

"Yet we still ended up with you," Ross reminded him. "Now, you will sign the Accords, we can either do it the easy way or the hard way."

"How about the neither way?" Peter asked, trying to sound more optimistic than he felt.

"Final chance kid, you gonna sign?" Peter didn't reply, instead he glared up at Ross and spat as hard as he could in Ross' face. Anger swept across Ross' face as he wiped it off. He didn't say anything, but nodded to the guards behind him. They stepped forward and moved towards Peter.

"Never gonna sign," Peter mumbled, though his heart was pounding in fear and his spider-senses were going wild. The first punch went to his gut, knocking the wind out of him. He groaned slightly, but it wasn't as bad as he was expecting, probably due to his quickened healing and strength. He knew that it wouldn't stop him from feeling pain soon though. He felt blood spurt from his nose and bones crunch at the next punch. Peter cried out slightly at this and he felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"This isn't going to get any better," Ross told Peter. "Sign now and we can go fix you up and you can be out of here and back with Tony in a few hours." Peter groaned slightly, but shook his head. As much as his nose hurt, he was stubborn. He wouldn't sign the Accords. Tony said that he wouldn't need to do it.

"Continue," Ross folded his arms, before leaving the room. The punches began coming thick and fast. He didn't know how long had passed before they left. All he knew was that the world around him was spinning and he could feel blood dripping down his face. He felt pain all over. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so much pain. He'd rather be anywhere right now. He just hoped Tony was on his way. He had to hope that he was on the way. The thought that he was on the way was the only thing stopping him from agreeing to signing the Accords.

* * *

Tony tapped at his tablet frantically, giving a small smirk as he managed to get past the security. He clicked so he could watch the security footage. It took a couple of attempts to get the right one. Keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the screen, he watched carefully. He gasped in fear at what he saw. Heart pounding, his expression turned from anger to fear as he saw his kid get beaten to a pulp. He flung his tablet across the plane in frustration. Natasha looked up sharply.

"What is it?" Rhodey asked, walking over to pick up the tablet.

"They're beating him up," He whispered, standing up and pacing. He ran his hand through his hair. Too long. This was all taking too long. Peter needed him now. Rhodey watched the video coming from the security camera for a few moments before switching off the screen.

"Peter's strong," Natasha said comfortingly. And Ross doesn't want to kill him."

"I don't care if someone gives him a paper cut," Tony growled at her. "No one hurts my kid. And that looked a hell of a lot more a paper cut."

"I know," Natasha told him. "But getting upset isn't going to help the kid."

"I am going to kill Ross," Tony threatened. Natasha and Rhodey exchanged dark looks and Steve opened his mouth to object but Natasha gave him a subtle shake of the head. She doubted that Tony would actually kill him, but it wasn't worth the argument. Especially not with Steve. Those two still hadn't really forgiven each other.

"Did you find anything else from hacking in?" Rhodey asked, changing the subject.

"Ross has built a secret layer underneath the Raft," Tony replied. "Peter's locked up somewhere in there."

"Security will be tight," Rhodey commented.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y can hack it," Tony said quickly. He had no doubt of his hacking abilities, Ross may have power, but he was stupid. Though security was tight, the systems he used were outdated. It would take mere minutes to get in, or he hoped. He didn't know what he would do if Peter got hurt anymore than he already was. "In fact, F.R.I.D.A.Y can you hack the Raft, just the levels that aren't hidden. Then plant a bug for me so that the alert is sent to my phone, not Ross' computer if someone goes to the hidden layer."

"Of course sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied instantly, sounding almost as if she knew the urgency of the situation. "Already on it."

"We won't even need to try tricking Ross now," Tony smirked. "We can just bust into the base and Ross won't know we're there until our guns are pointing at his head.

* * *

"So kid, you ready to sign the Accords?" Peter looked up as he heard the voice. He didn't know how long had passed since the beating. The blood had dried on his face and the pain was had lessened slightly. His healing had started working but it was slower than usual, probably because he hadn't eaten or drunk anything in hours.

"Never," He whispered, his voice croaking slightly.

"How about a drink of water then?" Ross asked, smirking as a guard walked in with a bucket of water and a cloth. "Check his restraints, we don't want him escaping." Peter realised what Ross was going to do as the ropes around him were tightened and Ross put the cloth over his mouth and nose. He began wriggling and squirming frantically, but it was no use. He tried to scream as Ross poured water onto the cloth and it wasn't long before his lungs began to feel like they were on fire. Just as he thought that he was going to die, it was stopped and the cloth was removed for a few seconds.

Peter gasped frantically, trying to fill his lungs with oxygen. He knew it wouldn't be long before Ross started again. He looked up and saw the expression on Ross' face. He was smirking at his pain. "This will all stop if you just sign." Peter shook his head quickly though, not wanting to waste his breath on speaking. Tony would rescue him. He hoped that he would come soon though, he wasn't sure how much longer he would last.

A loud bang made Peter glance away from Ross to the door. Ross' expression turned to anger as four figures appeared in the doorway. Iron man was at the front of the group, his helmet down and face stony with Rhodey next to him with his guns raised. Natasha's guns were also raised and she already had a blood spatter on her cheek with Steve holding his shield up and looking behind to make sure that there were no guards left.

"Step away from my kid now," Tony's voice was dangerously low and Peter's heart leapt as he saw the look of fear on Ross' face.

* * *

_**Please don't kill me for hurting Peter. Thank you for all your reviews, I love hearing from you guys.**_


	16. Chapter 16

"I'll go in first," Natasha offered when they reached the door.

"I wan-" Tony began saying but Natasha shook her head.

"I know you want to save him, but I can take people out without making a noise," Natasha told him. "You aren't exactly subtle."

"Fine," Tony conceded, knowing that Nat was right. He might want to do everything he could to save his kid, but he knew to give him his best chance, he had to take a step back sometimes.

"I'll come back when the first corridor is secure," She said quietly, before opening the door and stepping in. She immediately saw two guards, but before either of them could either even pull their guns out, she had kicked the first one in the chest, winding him and she was choking the other one. Within seconds they were both knocked out. She glanced down the corridor but it was empty. She smirked slightly. Ross was an idiot. She opened the door, nodding to the others to let them through.

"Now you guys know what to do?" Tony asked one final time and they all nodded. "We bust our way to Peter, being as quiet as possible so Ross doesn't know there's anything wrong."

"Come on," Steve said, pulling his shield from his back, ready to block any bullets that came at him. The four of them began walking quietly down the corridor, following the instructions that F.R.I.D.A.Y had given them to get to the hidden part of the Raft. It didn't take long until they ran into more guards. Seamlessly they fell into a fighting formation, ducking and shooting. It wasn't long before they had got through to the secret part. Tony quickly turned the corner, letting his guard down for a second.

A taser held by a guard was held up to his head. Before he could react, a knife had whizzed past his head and into the guard's chest. Blood spattered out and he turned to see it fall on Natasha's face. He nodded at her in thanks before they continued on. Natasha stayed close behind him, not bothering to wipe the blood from her face.

Tony heard the screams before he had even blasted the door open. They all exchanged dark looks before Tony blasted the door, knowing that Peter wasn't going to be in the best shape. Rhodey nodded to Natasha. They both knew that Tony was emotional and that was when he made mistakes. If anything went south, Rhodey would make sure Peter got out and Natasha would take care of Ross and make sure that Tony didn't do anything stupid. By the time Tony got the door open, there had been a break from the torturing so Peter was gasping for air.

"Step away from my kid now," If it were any other situation, Tony would have laughed at the petrified expression on Ross' face. His kid was in danger.

"Tony," Peter's voice came out quiet and raspy. "Y-you came." Tony noted the surprise in the tone of Peter's voice.

"You come near me, I shoot him," Ross threatened, going to pull his gun out to hold up to Peter's head. Before anyone else could react, Steve's shield had flown across the room, knocking the gun from his hand.

"Don't move," Natasha told him, moving quickly across the room, her gun centimetres from his head. "You're alright kid." She whispered comfortingly as Tony flew over and began untying him.

"Thanks," Peter murmured quietly, staring at the bucket of water on the floor in front of his chair. The cloth that had been put over his face was now floating in it.

"You're gonna be okay spiderling," Tony whispered soothingly, pulling him into a hug. "We're gonna get you out and sort this all out."

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered, leaning into Tony, needing the comfort. "I should've... should've done more."

"You're okay," Tony ran his hand through Peter's hair gently. "It wasn't your fault. This was all my fault." Natasha looked away from Ross and saw tears in both their eyes.

"What should I do with him?" She asked, pulling a pair of handcuffs out.

"Get Pete out," Tony said, helping Peter to his feet. "I'll deal with him." Rhodey walked over and wrapped his arm around Peter, letting the kid lean on him. Steve picked his shield up and walked alongside the other side of Peter, helping him along.

"Tony," Natasha said quietly. "We should go, we've got enough evidence to lo-"

"He deserves a lot more than locking up," Tony growled. "He hurt my kid."

"Don't do anything that you'll regret," Natasha warned him. "You'll get locked up and Morgan does not need to grow up with her dad in prison."

"You'd better be right," Tony told Natasha. He turned to Ross. "Move it, or I will not hesitate to shoot you. I can cause a lot of pain without killing, but of course you know that." Tony eyed the bucket of water darkly and when Ross hesitated Tony blasted it so water splattered up on him. "Move." Tony ordered again and he quickly began walking, following the others.

"Nearly there," Rhodey encouraged Peter. "We've got doctors on the quinjet. They'll patch you up in no time."

"I'm fine," Peter grunted, struggling on. Rhodey rolled his eyes slightly at how similar he was to Tony when he was hurt. He would never admit it and it seemed Peter wouldn't either. "Is Tony coming?" He asked. He honestly didn't know if Tony would kill Ross or not. Besides, he wanted to be with Tony. He was hurt, tired and wanted comfort.

"He's right behind us," Steve said after Rhodey and Steve exchanged looks. "Don't worry."

* * *

"Protocol omega," Ross said suddenly as they walked through the Raft. He ducked down suddenly as sirens began to blare loudly and within a few moments guards that they hadn't come across when getting Peter emerged in the corridor.

"Keep them occupied," Tony said quickly and Natasha nodded, knowing Tony wanted to give Peter time to get out. The two of them managed keep the guards preoccupied. Distracted, they didn't notice Ross getting his hands on a gun. Natasha's eyes widened as she saw the bullet fly from the gun towards Tony's head. From the other end of the corridor, there was nothing that she could do to stop it.

"Tony!" Her eyes shot up to the ceiling where she saw something drop next to Tony's head, intercepting the bullet. Peter fell to the floor, blood gushing from his side. At the loud bang and shout, Tony spun round to see Peter on the floor. Without hesitation, Tony blasted in Ross' general direction as he ducked down, panicking. Rhodey and Steve rushed in, Rhodey's guns blazing and Steve's shield flying around.

"Kid," Tony said, as Peter struggled to sit up.

"He was gonna shoot you," Peter whispered, unable to find the strength to move. "I stopped it."

"Cover me," Tony yelled, putting his helmet back up and picking Peter up. "You're gonna be okay." Peter nodded, the pain from the bullet being too painful for him to talk anymore. It had been worth it though. They had been just about to leave, when the alarms went off. They had tried to stop him from coming back, but he had jumped on the ceiling and managed to crawl back. He had just arrived when he saw Tony about to be shot. Jumping down and taking the bullet was all that he could do to stop it.

"Get him to the quinjet," Natasha replied, taking out another couple of guards. The blasters on Tony's suit activated and he flew out, holding Peter in his arms, trying to keep him in as comfortable a position that he could be in whilst shot and flying through the air.

* * *

"He's shot," Tony said, his suit disappearing as he laid Peter down. The three doctors rushed around him, connecting him up to machines and applying pressure to the wound. "Stay with me kiddo, it's gonna be okay." He stared down at Peter. His skin looked deadly pale compared to the blood soaking through his clothes.

His heart pounded as he watched the doctors working. Everything had happened so quickly. He barely knew what was happening. One moment him and Nat had been leading Ross out of the Raft, the next there were guards and there was fighting and then Peter had been there, a bullet in him and bleeding.

He barely noticed as the others entered the quinjet and it set off. "We're losing him," He heard one of the doctors murmur.

"Peter please," Tony begged. "I can't lose you."

"The bullet hit a vessel, restricting blood flow to the heart," One of the doctors said. Tony stared in fear as the heart rate monitors began to beep.

"No Peter," Tony whispered, tears pouring down his face. He felt Rhodey's hand fall on his shoulder.

"He's gone," Tony heard those dreaded words. "The restricted blood flow caused a heart attack."

"No," He whispered, moving some of Peter's hair out of his face. "Please spiderling," He begged. "You can't be dead." But the frightening amount of blood said otherwise.

* * *

_**Please don't kill me for ending the chapter here. I've already written the next chapter so I'll upload it tomorrow so there's not long to wait. I'm not saying what happens, only that the angst is nearly over. I hope you enjoyed and please drop me a review, I love hearing from you guys.**_


	17. Chapter 17

Peter groggily opened his eyes, shielding them from the bright light shining. His eyes soon adjusted as a figure walked towards him, blocking some of the light, making it bearable. He squinted, recognising the figure. "May?" He asked, his voice still croaky from the water boarding.

"Peter," She smiled as the distance between them closed and she wrapped her arms around him.

"It's been a while," Peter's eyes widened at that voice. He looked behind and saw his Uncle Ben standing in front of him. He looked well and healthy, so different from when Peter had watched him bleed out. "I'm so proud of you." He smiled, as they also hugged.

"But it's my fault you're dead," Peter protested, but Uncle Ben shook his head at him.

"The only person whose fault it was is the man who fired the gun, not you," He reassured Peter.

"I knew you were spider-man," Peter saw Ned and MJ standing a way off. A smirk covered MJ's face. "I knew it, you should've told me."

"There's a reason why it's a secret identity," He laughed, doing his handshake seamlessly with Ned. "I didn't want people knowing."

"Well I'm gone now so I guess it doesn't really matter," She laughed.

"I'm sorry," He apologised. "I was there in space, fighting Thanos. I tried…" He turned round to face Aunt May once more. "I tried to save you but… I failed."

"You're not a failure," Peter didn't recognise this voice but as he saw who it came from, he knew instantly who said it. He didn't have any memories, but he knew what they looked like from photos.

"You're our son," His mum smiled, as Peter walked over to the two of them. "And we couldn't be prouder."

"I'm sorry we left you so young," His dad apologised.

"Mom? Dad?" Peter asked as the two of them brought him into a rib-crushing hug.

"Yes," His dad smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Am I?" Peter asked, pulling away and looking up at the parents that he had never got the chance to know. "Am I…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word dead.

"Not yet," Ned told him. "We're in an in between place, like in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with Dumbledore at platform 9¾." Peter smiled at the reference.

"You can stay and move on to where we are," May told him. Peter stared around, not knowing what to say. He wanted more than anything to catch up with his family. Everyone he had ever loved was here… Except…

"I don't know what do," He whispered, not wanting to let them down. Not when most of them were dead because of him.

"Dude," Ned smiled. "Tony Stark is your dad, why would you want to stay here?" He asked and Peter had to let out a small chuckle at that.

"I don't want to leave you again," He argued, staring at all of them in turn.

"You won't," MJ told him quietly.

"We never left you," Uncle Ben added gently.

"Come on Peter, stay with me," Peter jumped at the abrupt voice, not knowing where it came from. He knew without a doubt that it was Tony though. He'd know that voice anywhere.

"I-" Peter began but everyone standing around him began to start growing fainter.

"You need to choose, now," Aunt May told him with urgency.

"I love you all," He said quickly. "And I'll see you again one day." The relief on all of their faces were apparent. They hadn't wanted him to come with them. They wanted him to live.

"Until then," His mum told him before the world went dark again.

* * *

"Please Peter," Tony whispered, taking his kid's hand and squeezing it gently. "Don't leave me." As the defibrillator left Peter's chest, he jerked up suddenly, drawing a huge breath.

"Tony," He whispered, seeing the tear tracks running down the man's face.

"Thank goodness," Tony breathed with relief.

"What happened?" Peter asked, confused about his dream, not knowing what was going on.

"It's okay," Tony pulled him into his chest as the doctor began wiring Peter up. "You're okay now. It's all gonna be okay. Just don't do that again."

"Do what?" Peter asked, still not understanding. He looked past Tony to see Natasha giving him a small smile. He was surprised to see that a single tear had slipped down her face. He had never really seen her emotional before.

* * *

Tony threw hit after hit at the punching bag, ignoring the stinging sensation in his knuckles. They had begun bleeding long ago. He ignored the pain though. His pain was nothing. Not compared to Peter's. They had tortured him. He had taken a bullet for him. His heart had stopped. Peter had died. And it was all his fault.

He heard the noises Peter had made while being tortured going round in his head. They were louder than the thuds made from hitting the bag hanging in front of him. The blood on his knuckles reminded him of the blood gushing from Peter's stomach as he stumbled to the ground, having jumped up to intercept the bullet going straight for Tony's head.

He felt Natasha's presence long before she said a word. She had slipped silently into the room, but still he knew that she was there. He sensed it. She always came when he was beating himself up. He deserved it though. Peter was almost dead because he hadn't protected him.

"You know that he's going to be fine," She said eventually, folding her arms, still staring at him.

"He might not have," He said, not stopping the punching.

"You need a sparring partner," She told him, pulling him away from the punching bag. "Come on." She led him across the room to where there was more space. "This wasn't your fault." She told him, bringing her leg up to kick him, but he easily blocked.

"Yes it was," He responded through gritted teeth, bringing his arms up for an attack, but she flipped him over so he was lying on his back, panting up at the ceiling.

"You're not focusing," She told him, not bothering to give him a hand up, instead watching as he got back up himself. "It was not your fault." She said before they began. This time Tony lasted slightly longer.

"Can you not go easy on me?" He groaned as he got up again.

"I'll stop beating you up when you stop beating yourself up," She told him, raising her eyebrow at him.

"That's not fair," Tony argued, preparing for Natasha's next attack.

"That's not fair," Natasha repeated scoffing. "What's not fair, is leaving Pepper upstairs trying to both comfort your kid and look after and breastfeed Morgan at the same time." Tony sighed, knowing that she was right. "This was not your fault Tony, but the kid, he thinks it's his fault. I know that you're upset and this," She looked down at Tony's bloodied knuckles. "Has always been your coping mechanism, but your kid needs you. Being a dad is putting him and his needs first, even above your own guilt." She paused slightly before continuing. "Now do you need your butt kicking some more or are you done with the guilt game?"

"I don't think any of us will ever truly be done with the guilt game," Tony muttered darkly, though he headed towards the door, up to the medbay. The last time he had been in here was when Pepper gave birth. It seemed like years ago now.

"Tony," Pepper smiled in relief above the wailing of Morgan. "Can you stay with Peter, I didn't want to leave him but Morgan needs changing an-" Tony cut her off with a quick kiss.

"Sort Morgan out and get some rest," He told her, settling down in a chair near Peter's bed. Pepper nodded, standing up to leave.

"He should be fine," The doctor told him. "We got the bullet out of him stitched him up. The blood loss was pretty bad, but he's not in any immediate danger. In fact, since plugging in some water and vitamins, the healing process seems to have advanced a lot faster than should be expected." Tony nodded, knowing that it was because his powers also gave him faster healing. "He's heavily sedated at the moment to help with the pain, but we're hoping to lower them and see how he's feeling in about 12 hours." Tony nodded.

"Thank you," He said, before taking Peter's hand. He knew that heavily sedated, Peter wouldn't even feel it, but he needed to. He needed to remind himself that Peter wasn't dead. He had survived. Peter had only been dead for a couple of minutes before they had tried the defibrillator and he had come back. Tony would never forget the moment Peter died. It felt like the world was crashing around him. He had never felt pain like that before.

It was his fault that Peter was kidnapped and then that he was shot. He had been protecting Tony. It should have been the other way round. He should've been the one to be kidnapped, tortured and shot.

"Tony," Tony's eyes shot open at the sound of his name. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there next to him. His back was stiff though and he had been dozing on and off. He figured it must have been about 12 hours though for the pain meds to have worn off, bringing him back to consciousness.

"I'm here kiddo," He replied. "You feeling okay?" He asked sitting up, leaning closer. Peter groaned slightly, wincing at the pain from the wound in his side.

"It's hurting," He said, rubbing his eyes groggily. "But it's not too bad."

"Do you want me to get them to give you something for it?" Tony asked concerned, knowing that the doctors wanted to lessen the painkillers, but he also didn't want his kid in pain.

"No," He shook his head. "They'll make me go woozy."

"You sure?" Tony asked, squeezing Peter's hand reassuringly.

"Yeah," Peter told him. "I'm alright."

"Kid you got kidnapped, tortured and shot, you're not alright," Tony replied and Peter laughed slightly at that.

"I had to protect Morgan," Peter argued. "And you."

"It's not your job to protect me," Tony said. "When I saw you take that bullet for me, I was terrified, and then in the quinjet... when you died..."

"I died?" Peter asked and Tony realised that no one had the chance to tell him already. After had come back he had been on heavy pain meds.

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "Only for a couple of minutes, but I was so scared, I thought that you were gone."

"I survived," Peter smiled. "I'm okay. You don't need to worry."

"You're my kid, I'm always gonna worry," Tony replied, ruffling his hair at which Peter squirmed uncomfortably, then winced as he moved his side and the pain intensified.

* * *

_**I hope you enjoyed and that no one's gonna kill me for the cliff hanger last time. I had a lot of very angry messages from my sister about ending the chapter there, so I hope you're happy I've updated so soon. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, they mean so much to me.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

"You stink," Pepper wrinkled her nose up at Tony's smell as she walked over to where he was sitting next to Peter. He had been sitting there for almost a day straight, refusing to move even for food, only moving to use the toilet for thirty seconds. "He's resting, take a shower."

"I can't leave him," Tony whispered, not wanting to wake the kid up. "I don't want him to wake up alone."

"He won't," Pepper smiled. "I'll take the next shift. Go wash and get a few hours sleep, you'll feel better."

"I can sleep in here," Tony protested stubbornly. He was not letting his little spider leave his sight. The last couple of days had been hell. He had never been that scared before, not even when he had been kidnapped and tortured. He wished that he had been able to do something, anything, to switch places with Peter. The kid was the last person on Earth that deserved to be tortured.

"Tony," Pepper arched her brow at him and he sighed, knowing that she would keep pestering and moaning at him until he did.

"Just for a couple of hours," He compromised. "But I'm sleeping on one of these beds in the med bay so if he needs anything, I'm right there." Pepper nodded, knowing that Tony wouldn't concede on that. He wanted to be there for his kid.

"I put some new clothes out in the bathroom for you," She added. "Just chuck your clothes on the floor and I'll clear it up later."

"Thanks Pep," Tony smiled, standing up slowly, his back tight from sitting hunched up over Peter's bed for so long. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Obadiah would've killed you if it weren't for me," She reminded him and he chuckled slightly. "Now go." She told him, giving him a small push and he gave him a quick peck on the lips before leaving. Pepper sat down in the now empty seat. She smiled softly at the sight of Peter asleep in front of her.

Now that the immediate threat of his death was gone, she could stop worrying and be there for him. It was weird, when they had first asked Peter to come and live with them, she assumed that Peter would just hang out with Tony, but she had found themselves chatting and connecting too. It wasn't until Peter was taken that she realised how much she cared for the kid. They had become family. She hadn't been there when Peter had died, but just thinking about how close they had come to losing him bought tears to her eyes. She didn't know what she would have done if she had lost him.

She watched as he curled up, nestling into the blankets. He shifted so that she could see the pyjama top he was wearing and smiled as he saw it was one that Tony had brought for him. It had a picture of iron man on it. Honestly, she had never met anyone that was as egotistic as Tony. She loved him anyway because somehow under his selfish exterior there was a softer, selfless side. He would've done anything to stop Thanos.

She quickly began to gently shake him awake when he started wriggling and shouting in his sleep. Beads of sweat ran down his face as she pulled him from his nightmare and he sat up, looking around in panic, still half living in his nightmare.

"Peter," Pepper said, her voice full of worry. "Hey, it's Pepper. You're okay. You're safe." She relaxed his breathing got slower and he looked at her.

"Where's Tony?" He asked, his voice sounding panicky.

"He's gone to have a shower," She replied quickly, realising that he must've had some dream where Tony died. "He's fine." Peter nodded, quickly wiping a tear that had fallen down his cheek. "You okay?" She asked, wanting to give him the opportunity to talk about his nightmare. It was always Tony that he spoke to about them, and even then it was difficult to get him to talk, so she didn't think he would. To her surprise he began speaking.

"He died," He croaked. "I couldn't stop the bullet this time. It hit him in the head and he died. It was my fault."

"He didn't die and it wasn't your fault," Pepper reminded him gently, moving so that she was sitting on the side of his bed. She pulled him into a tight hug and smiled down into his hair, fondling it slightly as she felt his skinny arms around her.

"He was only there because of me," He argued. "He shouldn't have come, I'm not worth it." Pepper sighed.

"You are our kid," She told him. "A really bright kid that can be really dumb." She added smiling slightly. "We don't leave family behind. Tony was worried sick when he found out what happened. We weren't going to just leave you there."

"But I'm a burden," Peter said, pulling away from Pepper and looking down at the blankets on him.

"No," Pepper lifted his chin up so he was making eye contact with her. "You are not and I'm sorry that we ever made you feel that way."

"I saw them when I died," Peter said, changing the subject, not wanting to continue that conversation. "My parents... my aunt and uncle, Ned, MJ. They were all there." Pepper had never heard the name MJ before but she guessed that he was a friend, probably that girl that he had a photo of in his room. She'd never asked him about it before. "They- they gave me a choice." Peter stammered before continuing. "I could have gone with them or..."

"Lived," Pepper finished and Peter nodded. "And you feel guilty?" She asked and Peter shrugged.

"They were happy when I chose not to stay with them," Peter admitted. "I don't regret it." He added quickly. "It just seems unfair that I got a choice and they didn't."

"I know," Pepper told him. "Tony's having a shower but he'll be back soon."

"Did he stay here the whole time?" Peter asked and Pepper nodded sighing.

"He refused to leave your bed until I made him have a shower because he was going to kill everyone from his stench," She explained and Peter snorted slightly.

"Can I get some food?" Peter asked, his stomach rumbling slightly. Pepper smiled at how Peter's thoughts always turned to food.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Pizza?" He asked hopefully. Pepper looked at him and knew that she couldn't say no to the puppy eyes. She nodded.

"I'll get Natasha to bring one," She told him, not wanting to leave the kid herself. "Fri, tell Nat to stick a pepperoni pizza in the oven and bring it through when it's done."

"Of course," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied immediately. "Nat said that she's only doing it if it's for her 'spider brother'." Pepper laughed at her nickname for Peter and Peter blushed slightly, but had to smile slightly at the fact that Nat thought of him as family.

"It is," Pepper confirmed.

"One pizza delivery," Nat yelled, holding a plate of pizza and a second one with garlic bread a while later.

"No need to yell so loud," Tony complained before glaring at Pepper. "Some people are trying to sleep."

"It's not my fault that you refuse to have a proper sleep pattern," Pepper replied, folding her arms and arching her eyebrow at him. Tony rolled his eyes before flopping back into bed.

"Just wear ear plugs," Nat told Tony before passing the food to Peter who grinned when he saw the garlic bread.

"Thanks Nat," He said, already ripping into the pizza. Nat smiled in reply.

"You spoil him," Pepper laughed.

"I only did the garlic bread because I wanted some," Natasha laughed, winking at him before swiping a slice of Peter's plate. Peter narrowed his eyes at her for a few seconds before deciding that he wouldn't win.

"I'm gonna allow that," He said as Nat took an obnoxiously large bite. As Peter began devouring his food, Nat turned to Pepper.

"We need to talk about Ross," She murmured quietly. "Not in front of the kid." Pepper nodded.

"We'll go get you some water," Pepper said quickly, knowing that Peter would be alright for a couple of minutes.

"Thanks," He grinned, not really paying attention to the two women. They walked out of the room, heading towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"What's happened?" Pepper asked, her voice filled with concern.

"We've got him," Natasha grinned. "Tony knocked him out with a blast after he shot Peter and the team we sent in after, got him."

"Why couldn't you and take him then?" Pepper asked confused.

"We weren't allowed to be there," Natasha explained. "The-"

"Accords," Pepper finished nodding. "So they needed to send someone legitimate to make the arrests."

"Yeah," Natasha replied. "He's gonna go away for a long time, but there's an issue."

"What?" Pepper asked, wishing that this could all be over.

"He still knows about Peter's identity," Natasha explained. "His people that were there don't know why Ross were torturing Peter, so we don't need to worry about them. But apparently some guy called Toomes knows about the kid. I did some research on the guy and app-" Pepper cut in though.

"We know who Toomes is," She sighed. "Peter's the one that got him locked up. When the snap happened and things in prisons got out of hand, loads of deals were being made and Toomes made one with Ross."

"I'm thinking we make another deal with Toomes. Arrest him, shake him up a bit. Make him think that he's going back inside then make him sign something that says if he reveals Peter's identity to anyone else, he's not seeing the light of day again." Pepper nods.

"It does feel a bit hypocritical making him sign something to stop Peter from being forced to sign something," She admitted but Natasha shrugged. Nothing that bad would happen to Toomes as long as he didn't reveal Peter's identity.

* * *

"Happy!" Peter sat up in bed excitedly. Finally! Something interesting. He had been stuck in bed forever. Tony wouldn't even let him walk to the toilet alone. Tony always carried him and stood outside waiting for him to finish before carrying him back. He just wanted to get out of this room.

"Hey kiddo," He smiled, handing him a box. "Pepper told me you were going bored out of your mind."

"For me?" Peter asked, staring at the huge box in his hands.

"To keep your mind distracted from this boring room," Happy told him. "I'll get a table to put next to your bed to for you to do it on."

"Awesome," Peter breathed happily, looking down at the Avengers Lego set that he was holding. "Your the best Happy."

"I know," Happy chuckled slightly as he got a fold up table and set it beside Peter so he could start the Lego.

"Can you speak to Tony about letting me move around a bit?" Peter asked, opening the box. Happy smiled at Peter's attempts to break out of the med bay early.

"The doc says you're supposed to be on bed rest," Happy reminded him. "You're still healing."

"But I'm so boooooooored," Peter complained.

"We can get a TV in here," Happy suggested. "We could sit and binge watch Downton Abbey together." Peter's eyes widened in fear.

"No way," He said immediately. He was not watching that rubbish. Never. He'd rather die. Again. "We could watch Star Wars though." He suggested hopefully. Happy smiled at his puppy eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to say no.

"Why don't you make a start on this," He said, nodding to the Lego. "And I'll get Pepper to organise a TV being brought in here."

* * *

"Take it slowly," Tony told Peter a couple of days later as he helped him out of bed.

"I'm fine Tony," Peter tried to push away Tony's arm so he was walking unsupported, but Tony refused to budge it. "I was shot, it's not like my legs were injured."

"I don't want to take any risks," Tony objected. "And I'm your legal guardian so you have to do what I say."

"Pepper," Peter looked across the room with wide eyes. She sighed slightly.

"Maybe take a step back Tony," She said eventually. "But hover just in case." Tony rolled his eyes as Peter grinned.

"Thanks," He leapt towards the door happily.

"Woah kiddo," Tony chased after him quickly. "Slowly."

"Fine," Peter rolled his eyes, slowing slightly. "But if you're not letting me do flips by Christmas, I'm not getting you a present.

"But it's only a week until Christmas," Tony argued. "The doctor says not to do anything too strenuous."

"Webbing my way across the city would be strenuous," Peter argued. "Flipping is nothing."

"Peter," Pepper sighed. "Let's just keep it small for now. You may feel better, but your body is still healing inside. Maybe we could go for a walk on Christmas day instead." She suggested, knowing that Peter was frustrated and Tony probably was being too overprotective.

"Fine," Both Peter and Tony conceded, knowing that there was no arguing with Pepper. She always had the final say.

"Good," Pepper smirked at the both of them. "But if you won't let him jump around, you'll have to be lift him to put the star on the tree."

"You guys haven't decorated yet?" Peter asked. "But it's nearly Christmas. You can't have not put the decorations up."

"We were waiting for you kiddo," Tony smiled, ruffling his hair slightly. "But I don't want you overexerting yourself. If you feel at all tired or dizzy, you need to tell me. No running around the place though. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Yes," Peter sighed, rolling his eyes, though he was secretly excited that Pepper and Tony had waited to decorate. He figured that they would probably be spending Christmas at the Avengers compound. Since he had been rescued, he had been living in the med bay at the compound. He doubted that Tony would let him go back to their house for Christmas considering that he was only just being allowed to walk.

"The tree's up," Pepper explained, walking over to the two of them. "But we still need to decorate." The three of them stepped into the elevator.

"Fri, take us to the common room," Tony ordered. "Let's just hope that Nat has stopped Rhodey and Steve from decorating."

"We're decorating with the others?" Peter asked, sounding even more excited. "Awesome."

"You mean decorating with me isn't exciting enough?" Tony asked, sounding offended. "I could just put you on bed rest again." He smirked at Peter's scowl and Pepper laughed.

"Don't worry kid," She smiled, catching Tony's eye. "I say you can move around as long as you don't overexert yourself."

"Thanks," Peter beamed as Tony walked out of the elevator.

"Finally," Rhodey yelled, getting up as Christmas music began pounding out of the speakers.

"I was going to have to knock him out if you took any longer," Natasha smirked and Steve laughed.

"I noticed a certain theme going on with the colours," He said, pointing to the boxes of red and gold baubles. Rhodey and Tony smirked at that. Last Christmas, they had started a tradition of having the Avengers together for the day, but both Steve and Natasha had been on the run so they hadn't seen the decorations that Tony had got.

"I had to persuade him not to get specific Iron Man baubles," Pepper laughed, as they all began grabbing baubles.

"Hey!" Peter protested as Natasha took the bauble he was about to pick up. "I was gonna do that one."

"Too slow маленький паук," She smirked, flicking him playfully, though she did put it back and took a different one.

"If I had done that, I wouldn't have got the bauble," Tony pouted and Peter stuck his tongue out in response.

"You're not my маленький паук like Peter is," Natasha smirked, shrugging slightly. "You're an idiot."

"I'm not even going to ask what that means," Tony responded, sticking his leg out to trip Natasha up, but she hopped over it easily.

"Little spider," Peter told him.

"How do you even know that?" Tony asked, wrinkling his nose before yelping slightly as Natasha hit him playfully on the back of his head. Peter shrugged, knowing that not knowing would annoy Tony.

"I told him," Natasha laughed. "Your kid might be smart, but he's not fluent in Russian."

"I keep telling him he should learn a language more useful than Spanish," Tony said.

"No you don't," Pepper argued. "You keep saying that he should learn more coding languages." The others all laughed at this.

"Everywhere speaks English, no point in learning any languages," Rhodey joked.

"Just the star left," Steve said a few minutes later, putting the final piece of tinsel on the tree.

"Well seeing as some one," Here Peter glared at Tony. "Won't let me jump up on the ceiling to put it on, I'll need a lift to get up." He smirked at Tony then the 7 foot tree he was standing in front of.

"Woah," Rhodey looked across at Tony. "Last year, you said that I could put the star on the tree if you did it last year." At hearing this, Peter glared at Tony.

"You said that I could do it though," He protested. Rhodey and Peter looked at each other, narrowing their eyes before turning back to Tony.

"Thanks for offering to give Peter a lift so you both can put the star on the tree," Tony suggested. Peter beamed at this suggestion.

"You owe me one," Rhodey relented, not wanting to wipe the smile from Peter's face after everything he had been through. "I'm gonna need my suit to lift him though." Tony was about to make a comment about how Peter was as light as a feather when he realised Rhodey couldn't lift him because of his legs.

"You can have one of mine," Tony offered, tapping his watch, to bring one into the room. Peter grinned as he was lifted from the ground and he put the star on top.

* * *

"Urgh," Peter groaned as the scissors got stuck on the sellotape for the billionth time.

"You okay kid?" Pepper asked, popping the head round his door, having heard the frustration in Peter's tone.

"Don't look!" He yelled throwing his blanket off the bed onto the floor in front of him. "Sorry presents." He said, laughing at Pepper's expression.

"You didn't need to get us anything," She smiled.

"I wanted to," Peter argued. "But May and I never normally didn't bother wrapping stuff. We just shoved it in a plastic bag and exchanged it like that."

"I can help if you want," Pepper offered, walking further into the room.

"Turn around," Peter ordered. "So you don't see your present." Pepper nodded, smiling. As she turned to face the door, he opened his desk drawer and shoved her gift in it. "You can look now," She turned back around and sat cross legged on the floor next to him. She picked up the mug that he had been trying to wrap and smiled at it.

He had got an iron man mug with 'Iron dad' written on it in bold text. "He'll love it," She told him, before looking aghast at the amount of wrapping paper he was using to wrap it.

"How many forests did you chop down in your attempts to wrap that?" She asked, raising her eyebrow as he laughed sheepishly.

"I told you I'm not good at wrapping," He replied defensively. "Leave me alone."

"I'll show you," She smirked, putting the mug on the wrapping paper and rolled it up, cutting off the unused paper.

"You make it look so easy," Peter complained. "The wrapping paper just goes everywhere when I try to do it." Pepper laughed slightly.

"It just takes practise," She told him, holding the two edges of wrapping paper together and giving it to Peter so she could cut the sellotape.

* * *

"Fri, are they awake yet?" Peter asked for the hundredth time, staring up at the ceiling in boredom.

"No Peter," F.R.I.D.A.Y sighed, sounding slightly annoyed about the amount of times that Peter had asked her about Tony and Pepper. "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to wake them up?"

"Yes," Peter said, sitting up. "Can you put on Love Actually for me?" He asked, deciding that he wasn't going to get back to sleep and Tony and Pepper clearly weren't going to wake up any time soon. He knew that both of them hadn't got much sleep since he had been shot and didn't want to wake them up just because it was Christmas.

"Of course," F.R.I.D.A.Y's tone sounded relieved that he seemed to have given up waiting for people to wake up. Peter settled down watching the TV from his bed, trying not to think about his last Christmas when Aunt May had still been alive. They had been invited around Ned's family and had Christmas dinner with them. He should probably have checked if Ned's parents were still alive, he had never really thought about it before. They used to be his second family.

* * *

"Merry Christmas Spiderling," Tony grinned as he and Pepper came into Peter's room, Morgan in Pepper's arms.

"Finally," Peter leapt up from his bed. "I've been awake for hours." Pepper and Tony chuckled at his impatience. "Can we do presents now?" He asked excitedly.

"How about breakfast first?" Pepper suggested as Peter's stomach rumbled loudly. "Nat's been making pancakes so we can all eat and then do presents together."

"Fine," Peter sighed. "I'll be ready in ten." Pepper and Tony smiled and exchanged looks at his enthusiasm over opening his Christmas presents.

"Are you sure he'll like it?" Pepper asked Tony as they walked from Peter's room to the one that they were using whilst at the compound.

"Of course," Tony smirked. "Kid's a genius, what more can he want than his own lab?"

"I know," She smiled, giving Tony a quick kiss. "I just worry too much." And Tony laughs.

"You worry for the both of us," He told her, squeezing her hand softly as she laughed. "How annoyed do you think the spider will be if I take as long as possible to eat breakfast?" Pepper laughed this time, before swatting his arm lightly.

"You're so cruel," She smiled. "That kid deserves a happy Christmas."

"I know," Tony's smile faded as he remembered all that he had been through in the last year. He wished that everyone who had been dusted was there, especially Peter's Aunt May, but he also knew that they would tell him to have a good time for him. There was no way he wasn't going to make sure his kid had a great time.

A loud cry from Pepper's eyes interrupted the moment and Tony immediately looked down at his daughter. "Hey little one," He smiled, taking from Pepper before realising what the problem was when he held her close to him. "Ooof that's a bad one, Pep, wanna sort it?" Pepper raised her eyebrow at her husband.

"You took her off me," She smirked. "You deal with it." Tony narrowed his eyes as the wailing got louder.

"Fine," He huffed, though they both knew that it was jokingly. "If Peter comes through, just go down, I'll catch you up."

* * *

"They won't let me open presents until after breakfast," Peter complained to Natasha,slumping down on one of the stools, slightly grumpily. Natasha chuckled, ruffling his hair slightly before smiling at Pepper and Tony.

"Don't worry," She said, passing him the first plate of pancakes. "Aunty Nat's got your back don't worry." She said, slipping him a small wrapped package.

"Thanks," Peter grinned perking up immediately, both at the present and the food. She grinned, passing the rest of plates of pancakes down the breakfast table.

"Thanks," Peter trailed off, grinning at his gift, shoving the wrapping paper to one side. He held the t-shirt that he had just unwrapped. It had writing that said 'I had to make these bad chemistry jokes because all the good ones Argon' which made him snort slightly.

"You know I should confiscate those because I said no presents before breakfast," Tony said from behind Peter.

"You wouldn't," Peter said, hugging the t-shirt to his chest to protect it.

"Don't worry маленький паук," Natasha smirked, leaning over to steal one of the chocolate chips from Tony's plate. "He knows he'd have to get through me first." Peter stuck his tongue out, glaring jokingly at Tony. "And he's too scared of me to do that."

"Am not," Tony folded his arms, glaring at Natasha.

"Tony," Pepper sighed slightly. "Just eat your breakfast before you end up getting beaten up." Both Natasha and Peter laughed at that.

"Personally I think Tony should be on washing up," Rhodey piped up. "For wanting to confiscate the kid's present."

"I second that," Peter added quickly, ducking quickly to avoid a joking swat aimed at his head from Tony.

"I cooked so I'm not doing it," Natasha shrugged.

"Besides, he was the last one down," Steve put in.

"It's not my fault someone tricked me into changing Morgan's nappy for them," Tony said, looking across at his wife.

"You're the one that took her from me," Pepper shrugged.

* * *

"Finally," Peter sat in front of the tree impatiently waiting for everyone else to sit on the various chairs and sofas around the tree.

"You know what I think we should go for a walk before we do presents," Steve laughed, winking at Natasha who smirked evilly.

"Yeah, I think you're right," She agreed. "We should walk off that breakfast." Peter sighed loudly, glaring as the two of them cracked up.

"Alright kiddo, dive straight in," Tony told him as he sat on the chair next to Peter. Peter grinned happily before diving into his pile of presents, which was at least ten times bigger than all the other piles.

"Thanks Rhodes," Peter grinned holding up the War Machine pyjamas that he had just unwrapped. Rhodey smiled at him.

"Couldn't have you continue inflating Tony's already too large ego by wearing Iron Man ones," He shrugged.

"You wear Iron Man pyjamas?" Natasha asked in disgust and Peter blushed slightly.

"Why do you say that as if it's a bad thing?" Tony asked, glaring across.

"Because it is," She smirked as Tony narrowed his eyes at her.

"Did you get Pepper to wrap this?" Tony asked a few minutes later holding up the present that was from Peter.

"Well... I tried to wrap it myself," Peter told him, smiling slightly. "But I wasn't very good so Pepper gave me some help." Tony smiled back before unwrapping it.

"I love it," He smiled down at the mug, ruffling his hair. "Hey Pep can you make me a coffee?" He asked, holding it up.

"You had one with your breakfast, you do not need another one," Pepper told him.

"But that one won't taste as good as this one will," He argued as Pepper laughed slightly. "This one will be drunk from my favourite mug." Peter smiled at this and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but it's a decaf one," She said. "And since I'm making it, next time Morgan wakes us up in the night, you're sorting her out."

"Done," Tony smirked, winking at Peter, who was relieved that Tony liked the gift. "So Peter, I hope you can forgive us, but you won't be getting your present til we return home." Peter frowned slightly at that. "Hey! It's not my fault that I got you such a big present that I couldn't wrap it up and bring it here."

"What is it?" Peter asked, narrowing his eyes as if he was going to decide whether to forgive him based off the gift.

"Your own lab in a room off mine that you can use when you want, unsupervised," Tony explained and was slightly startled as the teen rammed into him, wrapping his arms around him. Tony smiled as he returned the hug, it was weird to think that not that long ago he would have shied away from the kid hugging him. He literally did pull away from the kid when he'd tried to hug him when he had taken him back from Germany.

"I can really use it whenever I want?" Peter asked, looking up at him hopefully. Tony smiled, ruffling his hair slightly.

"There are some restrictions on it. F.R.I.D.A.Y won't let you in it from 10pm to 8am so you don't have any all nighters in there," He told him. "But apart from that, if you need any equipment or anything, just check with me so I know what you're doing is safe and ask F.R.I.D.A.Y to order it."

"You're the best," Peter smiled, making Tony's heart melt as he watched the kid return to his spot amongst the ripped up wrapping paper.

* * *

_**I tried to get this out on Christmas, but it ended up turning into a kind of mega long chapter so it took a lot longer than I expected, so late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you think :)**_


	19. Chapter 19

"Hey spiderling," Natasha shook Peter awake as he moaned and rolled over.

"Go away," He complained, pulling his duvet over his head, curling up in a ball and rolling over, trying to escape Natasha shaking him.

"Hey that's no way to address your favourite aunt," Natasha narrowed her eyes in fake annoyance as Peter continued burrowing under his duvet.

"This is no way to wake me at this time in the morning," Peter finally brought his head out from under his covers.

"Me and Steve were planning on going for a morning jog," Natasha smiled sweetly. "Work off Christmas dinner. Want to come with us?"

"Why would I want to go on a run?" Peter groaned.

"I persuaded Tony to let you out for a bit," Natasha told him. "Besides there's a bakery that we like to stop at."

"Ugh," Peter rubbed the sleep from his eye before nodding. "But only because of the food." Natasha laughed.

"Come on pipsqueak," She said. "We're leaving in ten."

"Ten?" Peter repeated, scrambling to get out of his bed. "Fine, get out so I can get dressed then." Natasha smiled, closing the door behind her quietly.

"You seem to be able to hold your own pretty well," Steve said a while later as they joked side by side.

"I can normally go quicker," Peter panted. "I'm still not fully recovered though."

"You've recovered pretty well, all things considered," Steve said, slowing his pace slightly so Peter wasn't struggling to keep up as much.

"I've got quicker healing," Peter shrugged slightly. "Ever since the spider bite."

"That's how you got your powers?" Natasha snorted slightly.

"Shut up," Peter glared at her defensively. "It's not funny, I've been petrified of them ever since."

"You're name's spider-man and you're scared of spiders?" Steve stopped at this as him and Natasha cracked up laughing. He turned his glare to Steve which made him begin to laugh.

"Anyway, isn't it time to head to the bakery?" Peter said, quickly changing the subject. Steve laughed a bit more at him for changing the subject so quickly.

"Ten more minutes," He told him as he and Natasha continued.

"Wait for me," Peter called before racing after them.

* * *

Peter sat up in bed panting heavily as he was pulled back to reality. _It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare_. He kept telling himself that. He had escaped. He wasn't being tortured. Ross was locked up. Tony would protect him. He sighed as he realised that he was covered in sweat. He knew that he wasn't going to get back to sleep after that so he may as well get up.

As he got out of his bed, he wondered why Tony hadn't come rushing through. He usually did when Peter had a nightmare. The protocol Tony programmed into F.R.I.D.A.Y must not apply at the compound or something. It was kind of nice being at the compound. Tony and Pepper were planning on staying until after the new year. They didn't want to rush Peter's recovery, even though he insisted that he was fine.

As the water hit his face, his chest began to restrict. He panted heavily, before he nearly slipped. He managed to grab onto the side and he switched the water off quickly. He panted heavily. This had been happening ever since the kidnapping. He had been washing himself with a face cloth and his hair in a sink.

Whenever he got in the shower, he got flashbacks. To the kidnapping. To the waterboarding. He couldn't breathe. He got dizzy. Blacked out. He had hoped it would go away. It hadn't though. If anything it got worse. He knew Tony would want him to tell him about it. He couldn't though. He didn't want to seem weak. He could deal with this on his own. He grabbed his towel and dried off the little water that had got on his face and in his hair.

"Peter, I think that Mr Stark would want me to inform him of these panic attacks," F.R.I.D.A.Y said and Peter sighed. He knew that if he didn't tell Tony soon, F.R.I.D.A.Y would.

"Okay," He whispered quietly, slumping onto his bed, knowing that Tony would probably be through shortly. He wrapped his blankets back round him suddenly cold from his quick blast in the shower. There were three short knocks on the door and Peter knew immediately that it was Tony. He always knocked like that. "Come in." Peter said quietly, so quietly he wasn't quite sure if Tony had heard him, but a moment later Tony walked in, looking dishevelled and only wearing a pair of joggers.

"Hey kiddo," He rushed to the bed and wrapped an arm around Peter, pulling him into his chest. "Talk to me. Fri didn't say what it was, just that you were distressed." When Peter didn't reply but he felt the kid shake from crying he prompted him. "More nightmares?" Peter pulled away slightly and shrugged.

"At first," He replied eventually. "I woke up sweating so I was going to have a shower but... I can't. Water... I haven't been able to since..." Tony sighed. His heart was breaking for his kid. He would've done anything to be kidnapped, tortured and shot instead of Peter.

"It'll be okay," Tony told him, fiddling with Peter's curly hair absent-mindedly, but smiled when he unconsciously leaned into the touch. "We'll work through this." Peter smiled slightly at the way that Tony said 'we'.

"How?" Peter asked softly. He didn't know how Tony could promise that things would be okay when he couldn't even have a shower without freaking out.

"Well to start with, Fri, order some dry shampoo for me," Tony said. "That'll save you from however you've been managing to wash your hair."

"Thanks," Peter smiled slightly.

"It's not a long term solution," Tony told him. "But it will help in the meantime."

"What abut everything else?" Peter asked, his eyes wide with anxiety. "How do we deal with that?" Tony smiled at how Peter was using the word 'we' as he had done earlier. He was finally getting that they were a team. Peter wasn't doing this alone.

"Baby steps," Tony shrugged. "If you want we can get a counsellor, or we can just do little things. Maybe start off with just splashing water on you, going outside in the rain."

"I don't want a counsellor," Peter said immediately, looking offended at the idea. Tony looked concerned at this.

"Are you sure?" He asked, squeezing Peter's arm slightly. "It might help."

"I'm a superhero, I don't need a counsellor," Peter insisted and Tony sighed again. He wished Peter wouldn't think that just because he was spider-man, he didn't need any help.

"Being spider-man doesn't mean you don't need one," Tony said. "If you don't want one, I won't force you, there'd be no point in it then. I really think you'd do better with one though."

"You don't," Peter changed tactic at that point, seeing as he would get nowhere with that argument. Tony paused for a moment thinking. His kid a point about that. Maybe he should get counselling. Pepper had been trying to get him to see one for years.

"Okay," He said after a pause. He knew it probably would help him. "I'll start seeing a counsellor if you will."

"Could we..." Peter trailed off, mumbling so that Tony didn't hear the end of the question.

"What was that kiddo?" He asked, pulling Peter closer into him and smiled as Peter leaned into him for comfort.

"It was dumb, doesn't matter," Peter said, thinking that Tony would think that he was too needy.

"You are not dumb," Tony said, wishing that Peter would stop being so self conscious around him. He was his son for goodness sake, of course he didn't think that he was dumb.

"Could we..." Peter trailed off again. "Can you be with me... when I see the counsellor." Tony smiled at this. He felt honoured that Peter would trust him to be with him when he saw the counsellor. He struggled to talk to him as it was, but have him there when he spoke to a counsellor. It was definitely a step in the right direction.

"I would love to," Tony told him, ruffling his hair. "We could go to that Delmar's that you love so much after the session." He offered and Peter beamed at that.

"Are you sure it's not too much bother to come to the city just for counselling?" Peter asked and Tony rolled his eyes.

"It'll be good practice for your driving," He replied. "You haven't been out in ages and you need the practice."

"I'm better than I was," Peter said defensively and Tony chuckled.

"That's not saying a lot," He smirked as Peter narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why don't you have your hair like this more often?" Tony asked, gesturing to Peter's curls. Peter shrugged.

"It makes me look five, it's annoying," Tony rolled his eyes.

"I like it," Tony told him. "You're always trying to be older than you are."

"I'm basically an adult," Peter protested, finally pulling away from Tony and crossing his arms in mock anger.

"Stop kidding yourself," Tony laughed. "You're a kid, my kid." They both smiled at that comment.

* * *

"No phones at the table," Pepper glared slightly at Peter as his phone began exploding with texts.

"Sorry," Peter murmured, quickly switching his phone on silent as Tony glared at him slightly.

"Have you started thinking about college yet then?" Tony asked changing the subject. "You'll have no issues getting in to any of them. MIT is obviously the best one though." Pepper rolled her eyes slightly and Peter shrugged slightly.

"I hadn't really thought about it," He replied, biting into a slice of pizza. "I've got over a year yet."

"It comes by quickly," Pepper reminded him. "It never hurts to start looking."

"Why do you need to look when you can go to MIT?" Tony asked, raising his eyebrow at Peter and Pepper kicked him under the table.

"Oww," He complained, reaching down and rubbing his leg where Pepper's high heel had kicked him as Pepper smirked at him across the table.

"Peter is not going to MIT unless he wants to go there," Pepper told him, smiling at Pepper.

"I don't even know if I want to go college," Peter said, shocking both Tony and Pepper. They had both assumed, considering how academic he was, he'd want to go to college.

"What will you do?" Tony asked.

"If you just don't know what you want to do that's fine," Pepper said quickly. "No point in going college for the sake of it."

"I just don't want to finish school to be stuck in a lecture hall," Peter replied. "Maybe it'll just be a gap year, I'm not sure yet. Besides, I need to save up."

"Save up?" Tony asked confused. "What do you need to save up for?" Peter looked at him like he was stupid.

"For my college fees," He replied, speaking slowly as if Tony was being stupid. Both Tony and Pepper exchanged looks at that.

"The college fees which I am paying for?" Tony asked, speaking equally slowly and Peter looked confused.

"Bu-" He began but Tony interrupted.

"No buts," He told him. "We adopted you, so we're taking care of you, including your college fees."

"You don't have to," Peter argued. He felt bad that Tony had already spent a ridiculous amount of money on the suit and he'd been looking after him ever since Thanos.

"I know we don't," Tony shrugged. "But would you expect Morgan to have to pay for her college fees?"

"She's your daughter, of course you'r-" But Pepper interrupted.

"Exactly, she's our child," Pepper smiled at Peter. "Just like you."

"But I'm-"

"Just as much our child as Morgan is," It was Tony's turn to interrupt this time. Peter wasn't sure how to respond to that, instead he took a large bite of pizza.

"You know Natasha and Rhodey have been having bets on how long it'll take for you to call them Aunt and Uncle," Pepper laughed and Peter nearly choked on his food.

"Why do you think that Nat keeps referring to herself as aunt to you?" Tony chuckled. "She reckons that she could get you to call her Aunt Nat within a month but Rhodey bet it'd be at least a year, considering that you still call me Mr Stark half the time." Peter paused, listening. Unsure what to think. The only other aunt and uncle he had ever had was May and Ben. Would it be disrespectful of him to call Nat and Rhodey his aunt and uncle? "Your aunt wouldn't mind." Tony said, knowing what Peter was thinking. "She'd be glad that you found another family."

"Isn't it... Isn't it like I'm replacing them?" Peter asked. Pepper shook her head.

"She wouldn't want you to be alone,"

"All she ever wanted was for you to be happy," Tony added.

"Can I go on my phone for a minute?" Peter asked suddenly. Tony and Peter exchanged a look, smirking.

"Just this once," Pepper said eventually. "Don't make a habit of it."

"Thanks," He flashed them a smile before pulling his phone out of his pocket. Ignoring the messages from Liz that had just pinged in, he tapped a quick message and sent it.

_Peter: Hey Aunt Nat, can we do some training this weekend?_

It was only a few seconds before a reply appeared.

_Nat: YESSSSSS! You just won me $100. Why don't we go to Canada for a week after the new year? Ask your parents :)_

"Can I go on holiday with Nat?" Peter asked. "To Canada in the new year." Tony and Natasha burst out laughing just as F.R.I.D.A.Y began speaking.

"Colonel Rhodes has asked me if you could lend him $100," She said, making Peter join in the laughter.

"Tell him that he should know better than to bet against Nat," Tony replied.

"Of course sir,"


	20. Chapter 20

Peter ran his hand through his hair as he read the messages that Liz had sent him. He felt awful. She was moving back to the city. Apparently her dad had decided that was best. He knew it was probably because he felt safer being in the city after being shaken up by the police. He couldn't help but feel responsible. She didn't want to go back to the city, and now, because of him, she had to. He stared down at the texts.

_Liz: Are you okay?_

_Liz: I haven't heard from you in days_

_Liz: Just a bit worried_

_Liz: I came round yours, but no one was in_

_Liz: I'm getting worried_

_Liz: Plz just text me_

_Liz: I'm just worried_

_Liz: I'm having to move back to the city :(_

_Liz: Call me_

_Liz: Have I done something to upset you_

He quickly tapped back a reply.

_Peter: Sorry, haven't really been on my phone for a while_

_Liz: I was panicking, sorry about all the messages_

_Peter: We can still meet up sometimes when you live in the city_

Peter sent the message with a sigh. It was, after all, his fault that he moving back. He understood why she didn't want to go. Life by the lake was relaxing. It was so different from the city, and he needed different. The whole world was different...since Thanos.

_Liz: I'm just worried about why my dad wants to move back. He went off somewhere in the night and when he returned he just announced that we were moving._

Peter bit his lip as another message came in. He knew that Toomes was moving back because it was part of the deal, so he could be watched more easily.

_Liz: I just don't want him to end up in jail again_

_Peter: I'm sure it's nothing. Try not to worry about it, it'll all work out._

* * *

"What do I even need to pack?" Peter asked himself, staring at all of his clothes that were laid out higgledy-piggledy on the bed. Tony watched from the doorway, amused but not revealing himself to Peter. F.R.I.D.A.Y had alerted him that Peter was struggling to pack for his trip to Canada. He watched for a couple more minutes as Peter looked at his various geeky t-shirts.

"Need some help spiderling?" He asked, walking properly into the room and Peter looked at him glumly.

"I've never been on holiday," He shrugged. "I don't even have a suitcase." Tony sighed at this.

"I'll get you one, don't worry," He replied. "Now what are you planning on doing in Canada?" Peter shrugged again. Nat was refusing to tell him. Said she wanted it to be a surprise.

"She won't tell me," Peter told him and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's pretty cold this time of year, so I'd go for lots of jumpers," He advised. "I'll give you a card so that if you don't have what you need when you get there, you can get whatever you need."

"You trust me with a credit card?" Peter asked, almost not believing it. Aunt May barely trusted him with lunch money. That was probably to do with the fact that he was once given money to buy some milk and he returned with chocolate milkshake instead. In his defence, she hadn't actually specified what type of milk she wanted.

"Peter, I'm a billionaire," Tony laughed. "You wouldn't make a dent in my account."

"True," Peter agreed. "I just..."

"Mi casa es tu casa," Tony shrugged. "I keep telling you, you're my kid so I can spend whatever money I want on you." Peter smiled awkwardly at that. "Is that all the clothes you own?" He asked, sounding surprised. Peter didn't respond, giving Tony his answer. "Guess you're going to get some driving practise in on the way to the city." He shrugged. "I'll see if Pep wants to join us."

* * *

"You were supposed to be here half an hour ago," Natasha rolled her eyes as Tony and Peter rolled up.

"Sorry," Peter said getting out, rushing to the boot at the slight glare that he was being given by Nat. "It was his fault."

"That I can believe," She smirked as Tony got out with a sheepish expression on his face. She stared in amazement at the three suitcases Peter was hauling out. "We're going for a week." She reminded him.

"That is the reason I was late," Peter said, giving Tony a pointed look.

"I wanted to make sure he had everything," Tony protested. "Pepper's away for a business thing so I couldn't double check with her about what he'd need."

"I asked him days ago for help with packing," Peter explained to Natasha. "And then he began panicking that I didn't have enough and ordered another two suitcases for me."

"I wanted to make sure he's prepared," Tony shrugged. "He's going away for a whole week."

"Well you can go now," Peter told him.

"I agree," Natasha smirked as an outraged expression appeared on Tony's face.

"Don't you want my help getting your stuff onto the plane?" Tony asked. "It's a private one so I can come through with you."

"No," Both Natasha and Peter were in complete agreement.

"I am offended," Tony said, fake glaring at Peter who laughed slightly. "Bye webster."

"Bye," Peter smiled as Tony ruffled his hair.

"I'll call you everyday," Tony told him. "Don't forget to eat your five a day." Peter looked aghast at this and Nat laughed at Tony's over protectiveness.

"I'm practically an adult," Peter rolled his eyes.

"You still have a couple of years to go," Tony reminded him. "And until then, I am your legal guardian, so you will eat your five a day."

"He'll be fine," Natasha interrupted. "What could go wrong?"

"We're talking about the kid that was supposed to be going on a school field trip to the Museum of Modern Art and he ended up going to space," Tony said.

"Hey I saved your a-"

"Language," Tony interrupted, glaring slightly at his son.

"Butt," Peter said hastily.

"Language?" Natasha smirked. "You're turning into Cap."

"And that is my cue to leave," Tony said quickly.

"See you Tony," Peter smiled as Tony pulled him in for a quick hug. Peter watched as Tony got back in his car and drove off. Natasha picked up one of his suitcases. "What are we doing then?" Peter asked.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Natasha shrugged, keeping her expression neutral. "You're going to love it though."

"You know this is only the second time I've been abroad," Peter told him excitedly as they walked into the building to check in. "Germany was the first."

"Well this one will be more fun, I promise," Natasha told him.

* * *

"This is awesome," Peter grinned as he picked up the paintball gun.

"I thought you'd like it," Natasha smiled. "And we can beat some random strangers' butts." They had only been in Canada a couple of hours and they were already going paintballing. Peter had never been paintballing before. It was gonna be awesome.

"I'm guessing I can't swing through the trees to chase people," Peter sighed and Natasha chuckled.

"How you've managed to keep spider-man a secret for this long, I don't know," Natasha said, shaking her head slightly. "Anyway, despite the later departure from the airport-" Here she gave Peter a slight glare. "We have time for you to practise shooting."

"Thanks," Peter beamed at her as she led her through to the target practise room.

"I bet I can beat you," She smirked, taking her position in front of a target.

"You're an assassin," Peter tried, and failed, to cross his arms in a fake sulk with the paintball gun in his hands.

"Just pretend the gun's your webshooters," She shrugged, aiming and shooting at the target, leaving a blue paint stain on the target. Peter narrowed his eyes, taking a position aiming at the target next to Natasha's. He shot and sighed in annoyance as the paint his the wall next to the target.

"You're close," Natasha told him. "Pretend it's Tony's face you're aiming at. That always improves my aim." Peter chuckled at that and took aim again. This time, he hit the outside of the target.

"YES!" He yelled, doing a flip in excitement. "I hit it." He smiled happily.

"I can see that," Natasha said, amusement in her voice. "You're a natural." Peter grinned at the compliment before aiming again.

* * *

"_You really think that the great Tony Stark is coming to save you?" Ross spat, leaning in close so Peter had no choice but to look at him. "He doesn't care about you. There's no one left who cares about you. They're all dead, because you let them down."_

"_It wasn't my fault," Peter protested. "I tried my best."_

"_Well it wasn't enough," Ross taunted before pulling his hand back and slapping Peter hard across the face._

Peter sat up in bed, sweating and gasping, clutching at the cheek that Ross had just slapped. He looked around the room for a moment, taking panicky breaths, forgetting for a few seconds where he was. He sighed in relief as he remembered that he was in a swanky hotel in Canada. It was weird not having F.R.I.D.A.Y right there asking him if he wanted her to alert Tony of his nightmares. Looking around the room, he realised he had virtually the next best thing. He leapt up and grabbed the spider-man mask, putting it on he jumped up onto the ceiling, crouching on it.

"Hey Karen?" Peter asked.

"Yes Peter?" Karen responded quickly.

"Can you check with Fri if Tony's awake?" Peter pulled his t-shirt off, using it to wipe the sweat off his back.

"Of course Peter," Karen told him. "I have checked but it appears that Tony has just gone to bed with Morgan. Pepper is still awake though. She's driving back from her business meeting, would you like me to call her for you?"

"Um..." Peter paused. He always spoke to Tony about his nightmares.

"I would strongly advise it," Karen told him. "Or I can get F.R.I.D.A.Y to wake Tony up. I'm sure he won't mind."

"No, it's fine," Peter replied quickly. This was supposed to be a break for Tony from having to get up each night to comfort him after his nightmares. "Try Pepper though."

"Of course Peter," Karen said. "I'm always happy to help."

"Thanks," Peter smiled. It always surprised him how human like Karen was, she seemed so real. "I appreciate it."

"Hey Pete, everything okay?" Pepper's voice came through Peter's mask after a small pause. "F.R.I.D.A.Y said that Karen was asking for me?"

"I had another nightmare," Peter said quietly. "Karen said Tony was asleep and I didn't want to disturb him."

"You can call either of us, anytime. No matter what time of day it is," Pepper told him.

"I-" Peter began, but he stopped talking, unsure what to say. He didn't want to be a nuisance to them.

"Any time," Pepper emphasised, before pausing for a few moments. "What was it about?"

"I-I was back with Ross," Peter told her, wishing that he had a comforting arm wrapped around him like he normally did talking about his nightmares. "But-but Tony didn't..." He trailed off here, not wanting to continue.

"It's okay," Pepper told him soothingly. "You're safe now remember that."

"He wasn't coming," Peter continued. "And Ross was... it was my fault. I should've done more. Everyone I ever loved has died."

"That's not your fault," Pepper said. "You know that. The only person who's fault it was that your Aunt died, is Thanos. He's the one who killed half the universe."

"Thanos didn't kill my uncle," Peter whispered quietly. "That was my fault."

"Did you pull the trigger?" Pepper asked patiently, whilst pressing a button so that F.R.I.D.A.Y took over driving the car so she didn't get distracted by her conversation with Peter and crash.

"No," Peter's quiet voice came through the car's speakers.

"Well then it's no-"

"I could've stopped the mugger earlier though," Peter interrupted. "The one that killed him. I didn't cos I was mad at the man in the shop."

"If you had known what the man was going to do, you would've stopped him though," Pepper told him. "I don't even need to ask you if you would have. You would have done it no questions asked."

"But I didn't," Peter argued, beginning to pace restlessly across the ceiling. "And now he's dead."

"And it was not your fault," Pepper said, emphasising each word.

"It doesn't feel like it," Peter told her.

"I know honey," She said, running a hand through her hair. The kid was so like Tony. Peter could have been Tony's biological son and no one would have thought twice about it. "But I will keep reminding you that it's not your fault, and Tony will too. We're here for you."

"Thanks Pepper," Peter sighed.

"I'm sure if I explain, Nat would be down for an all night movie marathon with you," Pepper told Peter. "She'd understand."

"She's already taking me on holiday, I don't wa-" He began, but Pepper interrupted.

"You've somehow wormed your way into the very few people that Nat cares about, if you're upset, she'd want to know about it," Pepper told him. "She won't mind."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked, jumping down from the ceiling onto his bed.

"What was that noise?" Pepper asked, hearing the loud noise.

"Nothing," Peter said quickly, blushing even though she couldn't see him. She always found it adorable when he crawled on the ceiling... until he left footprints. Then she was terrifying. Pepper shook her head slightly, knowing that she wasn't telling the truth.

"Do you want me to call Nat, or are you okay waking her up?" She asked, glad that Peter was feeling a bit better.

"I'll go," Peter decided, picking up a fluffy blanket to take through with him.

"Bye honey," Pepper said.

"Bye," He replied before hanging up. He pulled his mask off and chucked it on the bed before walking into the Nat's room to wake her. He tiptoed over to the bed and his spider senses went off just as he felt the butt of a gun pressed to his head. "Nat?" He asked, wishing that he could just tell F.R.I.D.A.Y to switch the lights on. He wasn't at home though. He felt the gun move from his head.

"Peter?" She said, moving the gun away. She flicked the lamp by her bed on as she chucked the gun away. "Sorry, force of habit."

"Sheesh," Peter's eyes drifted to the gun.

"I'm used to people trying to kill me," She shrugged. "I assume that there's a reason that you're creeping in here, scaring me to death at this time?" Peter nodded sheepishly.

"I was... nightmares," He explained. "Pepper said that you wouldn't mind staying up watching movies with me."

"I'll get the hot chocolate and popcorn if you choose the movie," She told him. He grinned at this.

"Can I have marshmallows and cream?"

"Is it even a hot chocolate with them?" Nat asked, leading him out of the room, smiling down at the young teen.

* * *

_**I'm sorry it's been like a month since I updated. I've just been so busy recently. The next 3-4 months are gonna be really busy, but I'll try my best to update at the very least once a month. After 10th June, I won't have any more exams so I can focus more and updates will be way more regular. Thank you for all your lovely reviews, I love hearing from you guys. **_


	21. Chapter 21

"I've had a really good time," Peter smiled at Nat as he pulled himself up further up the climbing wall. It was the last day of their holiday and he didn't want to go back. Nat had been taking him to do tonnes of fun stuff. The first day there was paintballing, then there was skiing, then there was bungee jumping. Nat was taking him rock climbing before their plane took them back to America.

"Good," Nat smiled, quickly moving past Peter. "You deserve a bit of normalcy in your life."

"Even before the spider bite, I never would have been able to go on a holiday like this," Peter admitted. "We only went away for a long weekend once a year."

"You're lucky you have a family," Nat told him. "When I was your age, the only holidays I went on was for assassinations in other countries." Peter didn't know what to say that so he carried on climbing, deciding to use his stickiness to stay on the wall so he could move up quicker than Nat. "That's cheating!" She yelled after him, before picking up her pace, though she knew that no matter how quickly she went, she wouldn't catch up with him using his powers.

"Hurry up slow poke," He called back down to Nat. "I'm hardly trying."

"I'll remind you of that next time we're training together," Nat smirked, watching the grin fade from Peter's face.

"That's not fair," Peter grumbled, slowing down so that Nat could catch up.

"Peter!" Tony yelled running over, leaving Pepper holding Morgan. Pepper laughed at her husband's over-enthusiasm at having not seen their son for a week. He had sent Peter about 100 messages a day. He'd have probably been calling him that many times if she hadn't banned him. Peter rolled his eyes as Tony held his arms open wide to give him a hug. Tony looked outrage and narrowed his eyes. "I don't like the manners you've been teaching him." He turned to Natasha who chuckled.

"Hi Pepper," Peter greeted eagerly, putting his last case down and flipping through the air to close the distance between them. Tony watched in outrage as Peter took Morgan from Pepper and began cooing over her.

"He just ignored me," Tony sulked. Both Pepper and Natasha laughed at him as Peter smiled down at his younger sister, watching as she grabbed his finger, blissfully unaware of the adults smiling at him.

"He's getting more and more of your mannerisms," Nat told Tony, taking one of the cases off him as they walked to Peter. Tony smiled proudly at this and then winced as he felt Natasha punch his arm hard. "

"Owww," He yelped and Peter turned and smirked at him rubbing his arm, grumbling.

"See," Natasha laughed. "He's getting just as cocky as you." Pepper laughed at this as Peter narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out if being compared to Tony Stark was a good thing. He eventually shrugged and passed Morgan back to Pepper before finally gracing Tony with the hug that Tony had wanted to begin with. Tony smiled down into Peter's curls as he ran his fingers through it gently. It was good to have him back.

"I just feel so helpless when I can't even have a shower without freaking out," Peter admitted, not looking up from his lap at Rachel, the counsellor that Tony had set him up with. "I'm supposed to be some hero and I have to run inside when it starts raining." He was relieved that there was an avengers counsellor that he could talk to. One of the reasons he had been against the idea of counselling was because he didn't want to have to hide the fact that he was spider-man.

"It's small steps," Rachel reminded him as Peter felt a reassuring squeeze from Tony. He was glad that his dad came along to these sessions. Having someone there to lean into as he cried made it all more bearable. "Remember how many people you've saved by being spider-man. Having aquaphobia does not take away from that. And we're improving the water situation, have you been doing what I advised?" Peter shrugged.

"Sometimes, but it's difficult," He admitted. "I try stand in the shower for a minute at least twice a week."

"Try to do it more often," Rachel advised. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but the more that you're exposed to water, the more it will help."

"Does it have to be a shower?" Tony asked thoughtfully.

"Not necessarily, what are you thinking?" Rachel asked sceptically. She had heard of some of Tony's daft plans.

"Water fight," Tony said, smirking slightly. Rachel rolled her eyes at that, but sat thinking for a moment.

"That might help," Rachel said, shaking her head slightly at Tony's imagination. "In the long run, it won't really be effective. At the moment though, small exposures will help."

"What you listening to kiddo?" Tony asked, walking into Peter's room and seeing him with earphones in.

"Nothing," Peter said, blushing slightly, thinking that Tony would judge him. Tony crept up and took one of the earphones from his ear, putting it in his ear. He grinned as he recognised it.

"When you smile, you knock me out, I fall apart, And I thought I was so smart," Peter shoved Tony jokingly but then yelped as the other earphone fell from his ear.

"Oi," He complained, glaring at Tony who glared back at him.

"I didn't know you liked Hamilton," Tony said, surprise evident in his tone.

"I didn't know you liked Hamilton," Peter said, sounding accusing.

"I've seen it like ten times," Tony shrugged. "We should go sometime." He laughed slightly as Peter's excited puppy eyes at this.

"Really?" He asked eagerly.

"Fri, book the three best seats for Hamilton next week," Tony said in response.

"All done sir," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied almost immediately.

"There you go kiddo," Tony ruffled Peter's hair slightly, laughing as he gave a small frown as curls fell in front of his eyes.

"I'm not a kid," He protested. "I'm basically an adult."

"Until you're 18, you're a kid," Tony chuckled at the indignant look on Peter's face. "Besides, even when you're 30, you'll still be my kid." Peter looked unsure on whether to be offended or happy about that so he settled on turning back to the science textbook he was reading and put his earphone back in.

"Hey, spiderling," Tony pulled the earphone out. "I did actually come in here for a reason."

"What?" Peter asked, doing a backward flip out of his chair so he was standing facing Tony.

"Why do you always have to do that?" Tony asked, raising his eyebrow. "Just stand up normally."

"It annoys you," Peter smirked and Tony rolled his eyes at that.

"Anyways," Tony said. "We need to speak about school."

"What about it?" Peter asked, confused. "I thought I was just learning from home until college."

"You can if you want to," Tony replied quickly. "But me and Pepper, well it was more Peps than me. I know we moved here to get away from the city and the business of it, but she doesn't think it's healthy for you to be living here with no one else your day. We were thinking about moving back to the tower and just use this place for weekend get aways."

"I don't want to be a burden," Peter said quickly. He didn't want Pepper and Tony to move back just for his sake. He could cope with living out in the middle of nowhere.

"Peter, for a genius, you can be so thick," Tony rolled his eyes. "Your our son, you're not a burden."

"Sorry," Peter mumbled, turning red.

"Now, do you want to go live in the city," Tony asked again, holding Peter's gaze. Peter squirmed under his eye slightly, still feeling like it was because of him that they were moving.

"I'd- I'd like it," He said eventually in a quiet voice.

"Okay," Tony smiled. "We'll probably be able to move within a week, I never ended up selling the tower when we moved to the compound so it's just a matter of having time to move."

"I guess I'll have to start packing my stuff up then," Peter said, staring around his room at all the mess that had accumulated since he had moved in with Tony all that time ago. Tony shook his head slightly.

"Don't bother kiddo," He shrugged. "We'll just get you new stuff for the city. Easier than getting a van down here and taking it all up there." He gazed round Peter's room, his eyes hovering at at the various photos of May and Peter's friends up on the wall. "Just take a suitcase for clothes and other bits."

"Are you sure Mr Stark?" Peter asked, feeling excited at the prospect of getting new furniture. He'd never really been able to choose what to have in his room before. At Aunt May's he'd had second hand stuff because they couldn't really afford anything new and when he moved in with Tony he had the spare room so it had already been furnished.

"It's Tony," He replied, exasperated at how long Peter was taking to stop calling him Mr Stark. "And of course, I keep telling you, I'm a billionaire, you're not even going to make a dent in my bank accounts." He grinned slightly at Peter. "Though if you keep insisting on calling me Mr Stark, I might insist on buying you Iron Man posters and duvet covers." Peter scowled slightly at that.

"I'll tell Rhodes and he'll get me War Machine ones," He laughed, knowing that it would annoy Tony. "He's a much better superhero than you anyway." Grinning as he saw Tony's expression of horror.

"I'll have you know, it was me that designed and made that suit," Tony told him. "Iron man is way better. Everyone knows that." Peter didn't look convinced.

"Pretty sure if you asked the rest of the avengers, they'd agree with me," Peter said. "In fact, Fri, can you ask everyone at the compound for me?"

"Of course Peter," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied immediately.

"We both know most of the avengers don't have a brain cell between them when it comes to recognising my genius," Tony said, already knowing that Peter was right, but not wanting to admit it.

* * *

_**I hope you guys are all staying safe at the moment. School has been cancelled for me, so I will have a lot more time for writing, so I'm gonna try and do regular updates. Update day will be Wednesdays. I've got a bad case of writer's block at the moment so sorry it's not as long as previous chapters, but if you guys have any prompts, that would be welcome. I know I still have some prompts that I've not done yet, but it's just because I have ideas for exactly when to do them, so they won't be coming for a while. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would love to know what you think.**_


	22. Chapter 22

"Can I drive? Can I drive?" Peter asked eagerly as he grabbed his backpack. Tony and Pepper smiled at each other at his eagerness.

"As long as you promise not to be careful," Pepper said eventually.

"I'm always careful," Peter said defensively, glaring at Tony for having told her about his driving antics.

"Hey," Tony held his hands up in defence. "She should know that she's risking all our lives by letting you drive."

"I thought you have F.R.I.D.A.Y installed in your cars so she can take over anyway," Peter argued, grabbing the keys from the side. "Wait..." Peter paused, turning back as they left the house. Pepper and Tony look concerned and the genuine distraught on his face. "What about Gerald? He's gonna get lonely out here alone." Tony chuckled at that.

"Don't worry kiddo," Tony smirked. "Happy's coming out here everyday to take care of him."

"You're paying happy to drive out here everyday to check up on an alpaca?" Pepper asked, sighing. "I knew that I shouldn't have let you get that alpaca."

"You love Gerald," Tony objected. Pepper rolled her eyes, not bothering to grace him with a response as she walked past him, letting him take the backpack of stuff that she was taking with her. "You know that you do." Tony smirked, slinging the bag on his shoulder.

"I get to choose the music," Peter smiled happily as he flicked the engine on.

"No," Pepper said sharply, glancing across to where Morgan was strapped into her baby carrier seat. "I've only just managed to get her to sleep, I'm not having you wake her up and have her screaming the whole way to New York." Peter rolled his eyes, but he knew Pepper was right. When Morgan started screaming, it took her ages to stop. It wasn't worth it.

* * *

"Hey spiderling," Tony knocked on Peter's new bedroom door before sticking his head round. "When we go out shopping for your stuff, Pepper wants to go to some fancy restaurant later, so wear something nice, got it?" Peter bit his lip slightly nervously, but nodded. He didn't want to admit the truth to Tony, he could throw something together though. Surely he'd have something to wear.

"When are we leaving?" Peter asked, beginning to run his hand through his hair, trying to tame back the curls. Tony smiled softly at Peter's attempts to tidy up his hair despite the fact that nothing worked when he was trying to make his hair neat.

"As soon as we've had breakfast," Tony told him. "We've been waiting for you to wake up so we can eat."

"You could've just come and woken me up," Peter told him, walking out of his room with Tony towards the kitchen. He didn't want to get dressed before breakfast because knowing him, he'd spill something on it and he didn't have a lot of options for something posh as it was.

"And dealt with a grumpy little spider all day?" Tony asked teasingly. "Personally I wanted to come in and drop a few ice cubes on you, but Pepper wouldn't let me. Said something about it being cruel." Peter fake scowled at Tony. "And she threatened to let you eat my breakfast if I did." Peter smirked at that.

"What is for breakfast?" He asked as they walked into the kitchen.

"Waffles," Pepper said, placing three very full looking plates on the table. Peter grinned as he saw the array of toppings on the table.

"Thanks Pepper," He said happily, taking his seat and diving straight in. Pepper and Tony exchanged amused glances.

"There's more if your hungry after that lot," She told him as she and Tony also dove in.

"Thanks," He grinned again before stuffing his mouth with a huge forkful of waffles and cream.

"I do not understand how you can eat so much," Tony said smiling as Peter swallowed his mouthful shrugging.

"Enhanced metabolism," He replied simply. "It was a nightmare hiding it from..." He paused briefly at the thought of his aunt. "Aunt May before she knew about Spider-man. I had to be careful about how much I ate so she didn't get suspicious."

"No wonder your so skinny," Pepper said, leaning over the table to squirt more cream on his waffles. Tony rolled his eyes slightly at the motherly gesture.

"Your practically having cream with waffles, not waffles with cream," He joked and Peter just shrugged happily as he continued eating.

"How did you sleep?" Pepper asked, moving the subject of the conversation on. Peter hadn't woken up from a nightmare for several days, which surprised her, especially with the stress of moving.

"Good," Peter smiled and Tony noticed that the bags under his eyes weren't as dark as normal. "No nightmares."

"You go and get changed," Pepper told Peter when he had finally finished his plate of waffles. "Tony and I will wash up."

"We will?" Tony said, looking aghast at his wife who shot him and evil glare. "I mean, yeah, of course we will kiddo, don't worry about it." Peter chuckled at this as he darted out of the room, managing to avoid Pepper who tried to ruffle his hair.

"Nope," Tony said, seeing Peter walking out of his room wearing a scruffy flannel shirt and black jeans. "I said to put something nice on." Peter flushed red as Tony turned him round and gave him a light shove back into his bedroom.

"I-" Peter began, unsure of how to tell Tony.

"Come on kid," Tony interrupted impatiently. "Just put a suit on." Peter, if possible, turned an even brighter shade of red as he began mumbling. "What was that kiddo?" Tony asked, sounding impatient. "Not all of us have super hearing."

"I-I-" Peter stammered, turning to look at Tony who realised that he shouldn't have got so annoyed. "This is the poshest thing I own." Now it was Tony's turn to look embarrassed. He had forgotten that Peter wasn't used to going out to events with a dress code. There was an awkward pause as he thought for a moment.

"What about your homecoming suit?" Tony asked, remembering that he had definitely been to homecoming because it was the same night that he had fought with Toomes.

"It was hired," Peter admitted. "Aunt May couldn't afford to buy one."

"Don't worry about it kiddo," Tony said, ruffling his hair. "We'll get you a suit when we go shopping."

"Sorry," He mumbled, still clearly embarrassed.

"It's my fault," Tony reassured him. "I should've realised. Come on, lets get going." They walked into the living room where Pepper was waiting. She raised her eyebrow as she saw Peter, but Tony caught her eye and shook his head slightly.

"Is Happy here yet?" He asked.

"Mr Stark, Mr Hogan is making his way up now," F.R.I.D.A.Y replied.

"Why's Happy coming?" Peter asked curiously.

"He's taking care of Morgan for us," Pepper told him. "We didn't want her to end up screaming all morning while we're shopping."

* * *

"What about these ones?" Tony suggested enthusiastically pointing at some iron man curtains.

"Tony," Pepper rolled her eyes at her husband's narcissism.

"What?" He asked, shrugging. "I think they're great curtains." Peter's face turned deadpan at that.

"I am not having anything iron man related in my room," He said, crossing his arms as Tony looked at him with a pained expression.

"Why?" Tony asked, picking them up and waving them in Peter's face.

"Tony," Pepper said as pulled the curtains from his hands before putting them back.

"Thank you," Peter laughed at Tony's wounded expression. "And before you ask no, I am not getting anything spider-man related."

"Why not?" Tony asked. "Spider-man is the second coolest hero around."

"Second coolest?" Peter asked, sounding offended. "Rhodey is not cooler than me."

"I know," Tony said. "I am though." Both Pepper and Peter cracked up laughing at that.

"Spider-man is way cooler than iron man," Pepper told Tony and Peter rewarded her with a grin.

"This is so unfair," Tony huffed, folding his arms in a fake strop. "My ego levels are going lower than normal."

"That's not a bad thing," Pepper laughed, continuing on round the shop.


	23. Chapter 23

"Mr Stark, I believe that Peter is having a nightmare," F.R.I.D.A.Y said and Tony sat up worried. Pepper took his hand sadly.

"You sure you don't want me to go?" She asked, but he shook his head.

"You've got important meetings in the morning," He told her.

"Technically it is morning," She reminded him, gesturing to the clock which was at one o'clock. "And you have the same meetings as me." Tony chuckled at that.

"Yeah, but everyone expects me to either be late or not turn up, you've got a reputation to uphold," He laughed and Pepper smiled slightly at that.

"You know you should stop being so unreliable, it's a bad example for Peter," She told him.

"Probably," He said, slipping out of their bedroom. "Pete," He whispered once he was by his son's bed. "Peter, wake up spiderling." He shook the wriggling, sweaty teenager softly until he opened his eyes.

"What?" He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Tony smiled fondly down at him. He looked so young like this, it was easy to forget that he was spider-man. Peter saw it was still dark outside and he groaned.

"You want to talk about your nightmare?" Tony asked, sitting down beside Peter who rested his head on his shoulder, shaking it. "Kiddo, they aren't going to go away if you ignore them." There was a slight pause between them and Tony wasn't sure whether he should push it or not.

"Can we talk later?" Peter asked him and Tony nodded. The kid probably should get some sleep, he was starting school again tomorrow, or rather today.

"Sure thing," Tony smiled. "I'll pick you up and we can grab a coffee or something together." He offered. Peter smiled at that idea, before frowning.

"You are not picking me up from school," He said, pulling away from Tony. "I'm not five." Tony looked offended by that.

"Everyone will think that you're so cool if you have me pick you up and drop you off though," He argued, ignoring Peter's stony expression.

"I want to drive myself," Peter objected.

"You don't have your license," Tony reminded him. "Besides, you don't have much experience at driving right in the city. If you really can't cope with having someone as cool as me dropping you off or picking you up from school, I guess I could pick you up a few streets away." Peter smiled at that and Tony ruffled his hair. "You're gonna have an earlier start than you're used to, so we need to get you back to bed." Peter groaned at that.

"Can't I just skip tomorrow?" He asked. "It won't matter that much cos I've been home schooling anyway." Tony arched his eyebrow at Peter's avoidance techniques.

"You're going to school tomorrow, whether you like it or not," He said. "Now, come with me."

"Where?" Peter asked confused. Tony rolled his eyes at the question and stood up. Deciding not to give him a choice, he picked the squirming teenager up and took him through to his and Pepper's room.

"Oh hi Tony," Pepper said sleepily as he walked in. She sleepily rolled over in the bed as Peter was clumsily dumped on the bed.

"We've got a spider sleeping with us," Tony informed her as he rolled into bed, hugging Pepper as he tried to sleep, Peter further down the bed, between the two of them.

* * *

"Are you sure you have everything?" Pepper asked placing a plate of pancakes, maple syrup and bacon in front of Peter.

"Uh huh," Peter nodded, diving in.

"I can make up more if you want," Pepper told him. "I don't want you going hungry on the first day. I've made you up a big lunch so you shouldn't but I don-"

"I'll be fine," Peter rolled his eyes slightly at her worrying. "It's not like it's really my first day at school. I did used to go there... I just... took a break." Pepper nodded, smiling sympathetically.

"I just want you to be happy," She told him. "Now where is Tony?" She asked, pouring a cup of coffee. "He insisted that he was going to drive you, but if he's not here soon, I'll have to do it. Honestly, he's less organised than you, and you're the kid." Peter began smirking then narrowed his eyes.

"I'm nearly an adult," He protested as Tony came into the room and took the cup of coffee that Pepper had just been about to drink from. He took a gulp and Pepper smacked his arm, making him help and spill coffee down his crisp white shirt.

"Hey!" He yelped, trying to get the hot coffee off himself. "What was that for?" He asked, glaring at his wife.

"That was my coffee," She told him.

"Sorry," He smiled sheepishly and she rolled her eyes as she went to make herself another cup. "Anyway, what's this about you 'nearly' being an adult. You're 16 kiddo, and if my math is correct, which it is because I'm a genius, you've got another two years until you're an adult." Peter sighed, annoyed.

"That's practically an adu-"

"No it's not," Tony interrupted. "Now hurry up eating," He told him. "You don't want to be late on the first day back."

"I've got ages til I need to be at school," Peter whined, though he quickly shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth.

"Did I forget to tell you?" Tony asked and Peter looked confused. "We've got a meeting with your headteacher." Peter groaned dramatically at this. Could Tony get any more embarrassing?

"You don't nee-" But once again Tony interrupted him.

"It's your first day back," He reminded him. "And you've been away from school for a while, I just want to make sure that everything's sorted. We need to make sure all your contact details and stuff are sorted." Peter rolled his eyes at that.

"Pepper, please tell me that he's winding me up," He moaned. Pepper shot Tony a glance. They never really had to deal with Peter in a strop before. She was unsure how to handle it.

"Peter honey, it's just one of those things you have to do," She told him. "It won't be long, and Tony will try to look as inconspicuous as possible so people don't crowd you for being with him." Peter rolled his eyes at this and shook Tony off as he tried to ruffle his hair.

"Fine," He conceded, pushing his empty plate away. "I need to get dressed." He walked out of the room quickly and Pepper looked at Tony, smiling sadly.

"I guess we officially have a stroppy teenager on our hands," She sighed. He chuckled slightly at that.

"We'll be fine," He reassured her. "He's nowhere near as bad as I was at his age."

"No one was as bad as you," Pepper laughed, walking over to him and giving him a quick kiss. "And remember to turn up to our meetings on time, or I will kill you." She said, smiling sweetly despite her authoritative tone.

* * *

"There's just one more thing to discuss," Morita said, putting the file of Peter's paper work into a cabinet. Peter rolled his eyes at this before Tony glared at him.

"Yes?" Tony asked, hoping that it wouldn't drag on for too much longer. The bell had already gone and he didn't want Peter to draw any more attention to himself than he already would by the fact that he had been adopted by The Tony Stark.

"I just want to go through Peter's grades," Peter bit his lip nervously. "Obviously with everything that's happened and all the adjustments, we don't expect them to be where they normally are, but before... Peter left, his grades had begun to jump about a bit." Tony gave Peter a look and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably at this.

"Can I see?" Tony asked and Morita passed him a sheet of paper with Peter's grades on from the past few years.

"There was a slight dip there," He pointed at where he was talking about. Peter leaned over and looked at what he was talking about.

"That was when... Ben..." He explained to Tony, who nodded understanding.

"His uncle died around then," He told Morita. "A dip isn't surprising."

"No of course not," Morita said quickly. "His grades went back up, but there there was another dip here." He told him. "And we aren't aware of anything happening at home that may have caused it." Peter looked uncomfortable at this. He knew that it was because he started going out as spider-man more. Tony looked at the date and saw that it was around the same time as he had taken Peter to Germany. He hadn't realised that the kid had been going out as spider-man so much that his grades were being affected. "It went on for quite sometime, and none of his teachers knew why. They did improve eventually, but they never reached the level that they were before all the dips." Morita explained. "Is there anything that we can put in place to support Peter?" Tony paused thinking, and looking hard at Peter who squirmed slightly.

"I think we should be alright," He said. "But I'd like weekly reports on his progress so if there's any problems I can catch them early." Peter opened his mouth to protest at this but he saw Tony's expression and quickly closed it again.

"Of course," Morita said, scribbling a quick note as the second bell went. "I think that wraps everything up. Thank you for meeting with me Mr Stark."

"Thank you," Tony said, shaking his hand, whilst standing.

"Here you go, have you got your timetable?" Morita asked Peter, handing him a hall pass so he wouldn't be in trouble for being late.

"Yes sir," Peter said, opening the door for Tony to leave out of.

"Have a good day," Morita told him as he and Tony left. Peter cringed as the door closed behind him and Tony gave him a slight glare.

"We'll be having a talk about those grades later," He told him.

"But you said that we could go out for coffee later?" Peter said, trying to get out of it. He knew Tony would be annoyed about the grades. He couldn't say anything about spider-man in front of Morita, but he knew that Tony knew that it had been the reason for his bad grades.

"We'll still have time to have a chat," Tony told him. "And you can expect a lecture from Peps, she won't be happy either." Peter groaned at this. He began walking away from Tony to his first lesson, but stopped when Tony spoke again. "Pete?"

"Yeah?" He sighed, turning back.

"Have a good day," Peter returned Tony's smile before rushing off so he wouldn't be any later than necessary.

"Peter amable de su parte a unirse a nosotros**[nice of you to join us]**," His teacher said.

"Lo siento **[ I'm sorry]**," Peter apologised, passing her the hall pass.

"Toma asiento **[take a seat]**," The teacher said, gesturing to the empty chair in the front row. Peter quickly sat down, looking around. He noticed that he had never really spoken to anyone in the class. He had hoped that someone that he was friendly with before everything would still be around, but apparently not.

* * *

"How was it?" Tony asked as Peter chucked his backpack into the back and took the passenger seat next to Tony. He shrugged.

"Okay," He replied quietly. Tony could tell by his tone of voice that he was lying. He didn't press him further though. If he didn't approach it in the right way, Peter would just clam up immediately. "I'm starving." Peter said, changing the subject.

"I'm sure we can find a place that does cake as well," Tony smiled. "Though, I wouldn't eat too much, Peps was saying earlier that we're gonna order out for pizza tonight."

"Yessss," Peter grinned happily at this news. "Can we get pepperoni?"

"I expect so," Tony smiled, amused by Peter's excitedness.

"Can I have a hot chocolate?" Peter asked Tony a while later as they walked into the cafe.

"Let me guess, with cream and marshmallows?" Tony asked and Peter smiled in response. "So, talk to me kiddo," Tony said once they had placed their order and sat down. "What was that nightmare about?" Tony asked, cutting straight to the chase. Peter sighed, shrugging.

"I was at school," He said after a small pause. "And all my friends were there... Ned... MJ..." He continued. "But then..." He broke off, not wanting to relive the dream. "They started saying that it was my fault that they weren't really at school. And then they... they just disintegrated." Tony squeezed Peter's hand comfortingly.

"You're a kid," He reminded him. "Nothing that happened was your fault. It was stupid politicians and their bureaucracy and agendas." They paused as the waitress bought over their order. "Thank you." Tony said to the waitress as Peter took a sip of his hot chocolate and smiled contently. "Besides, you know MJ and Ned. Do you honestly think that either of them would blame you for what happened?" Peter paused, chewing the inside of his cheek, knowing the answer, but still feeling guilty about it. "Peter?" Tony said, wanting him to answer.

"No," He admitted quietly. "But it doesn't feel like it when I have a nightmare."

"I know," Tony told him. "It's the same for me."

"Really?" Peter asked.

"Would I lie to you?" Peter smiled at this. "Now eat up kiddo, that looks like one good piece of triple chocolate fudge cake."

"Thanks," Peter said, diving straight into the huge slice that Tony had bought for him.

"Now, we need to talk about grades," Tony said and Peter groaned at this.

"Do we ha-"

"Yes," Tony interrupted, giving Peter a slight glare. "I completely understand the dip when your uncle died, we don't need to worry about that, however, that dip the same time I took you to Germany and the months after... you're a smart kid, spiderling, what happened?"

"You were the one that said homework didn't matter," Peter protested.

"That's not exactly what I said," Tony argued. "It was a bad excuse for not coming to Germany. One weekend in Germany should not have caused such a dip in your grades and it continued for months."

"It's not my fault that crime was bad so I was out patrolling more," Peter argued and Tony raised his eyebrow.

"Or you were trying to impress me so you were ignoring your schoolwork and taking unnecessary risks," Tony said and Peter blushed slightly, knowing that he was right. "Kid, you don't need to do that stuff to impress me. You're my kid, I'm gonna be proud of you no matter what."

"Really?" Peter asked, perking up at this.

"Of course," Tony smiled. "But you cannot let patrolling affect your grades again. I know that you'll want to go out as spider-man, but we will ground you if we don't think you're doing your best at school." Peter groaned at that.

* * *

"How was school honey?" Pepper asked as Peter and Tony walked into the apartment.

"Fine," Peter said shortly. Tony looked surprised at that. He had been in such a good mood when they had been driving home. Pepper looked at Tony who shrugged helplessly. "Dinner will be at six." Pepper told Peter who nodded and went to his bedroom. "Do you wan-" She began, but the door slammed behind him. "What's up with him?" Pepper asked turning to Tony.

"I don't know," He sighed. "He's clearly upset about something, but he wouldn't say anything when we were out."

"Did he talk about the nightmare?" Pepper asked, taking a seat on the sofa.

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "That's something at least. It was to do with his old school friends. I figured it wasn't really the time to push it because he was already getting annoyed about his grades."

"We can try over dinner," Pepper suggested. "Or maybe he'll open up to his counsellor." Tony nodded.

"Maybe," He said. "Oh and I told him we were having pizza and he wants pepperoni."

"Doesn't he always?" Pepper laughed and Tony smiled. "I was thinking if he gets all his homework done before dinner, we could watch a movie tonight." Pepper smiled at the idea. She loved it when the three of them had time to spend together.

"He might want to go out on patrol though," She reminded him, knowing how much Peter loved spider-man.

"I was thinking it may not be a good idea for him to go out this week," Tony said.

"He won't like that," Pepper told him and he nodded.

"I know," He sighed. "Just until Friday so he can get back into the swing of school. It's only a few days."

"I agree," Pepper said. "I still don't think he'll be happy though."

"He doesn't have a choice about it," Tony shrugged. "And if he has an issue with it, we'll just extend it so he can't go out at the weekend."

"Good idea," Pepper nodded as he stood behind her and began massaging her shoulders. "Thanks." Pepper smiled happily, leaning into Tony's touch.

* * *

**_I might just change the update day to Thursday because it keeps end up being Thursday. I hope you guys are all staying safe. I had so much fun with this chapter because I've not really explored this side of Peter because he's only now feeling more at home and is testing boundaries. I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think._**


	24. Chapter 24

Peter sighed as he pulled out his homework and sat at his desk. He hadn't thought that school would have been so difficult. Pretty much everyone that he was friendly with was gone. Half of his teachers were new and classes were much smaller. At lunch he'd tried to sit on his own in the corner of the cafeteria but people had kept coming up to him and asking him about Tony. He thought that he might avoid all the attention because he thought people would have more important things to worry about, but it seemed most of them had moved on from Thanos.

"Hey Fri," He said, tapping his pen impatiently.

"Yes sir?" As always, her response came immediately.

"Can you tell me some verb conjugations for Spanish?" He asked.

"I am sorry Peter," F.R.I.D.A.Y told him. "But Pepper has ordered me not to help with your homework. She thinks that you will retain more information if you look stuff up yourself." Peter groaned at that.

"But it's only conjugations," Peter protested. "Your not actually doing my essay for me."

"I am sorry Peter," F.R.I.D.A.Y said, sounding genuinely annoyed that she was unable to help him. "If you would like I can pull up a website that will help?"

"Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y," Peter said, staring at his laptop screen. He sighed as he began scribbling. He wanted nothing more than to go swinging through the city after the day he had. Well what he really wanted was to have his friends back at school so he didn't feel so alone, but that wasn't going to happen. After Tony's lecture about grades, he figured he should probably do homework instead of going on patrol. He'd go out after dinner though. Helping people would help him forget the worries of school. People liked spider-man, at school people only pretended to like him because of Tony.

"We got you pepperoni," Tony smiled, hoping that Peter would be in a better mood.

"Thanks," He mumbled, wanting to eat quickly so that he could go on patrol.

"What do you want to drink honey?" Pepper asked.

"Water's fine," Peter said, taking the pizza box that was offered to him.

"We were thinking of watching a film together this evening," Tony told Peter, ignoring the annoyed tone that he was speaking with. "What do you fancy watching?" Peter shrugged.

"I was planning on going out on patrol," Peter replied. Pepper and Tony exchanged a look, knowing that an argument was likely to break out.

"Honey, we were thinking that it may not be a good idea for you to go out for the next week," Pepper told him and Peter scowled.

"I want to go out," He argued. "It won't interfere with my school work," He added quickly. "I did all my homework before dinner so it won't."

"We're not worried about that," Tony said, trying to look Peter in the eye, but Peter deliberately avoided eye contact. "You've just had a lot of changes in the past week. It's just until the weekend."

"But I don't wa-" Peter began but Pepper interrupted.

"Peter," She said. "I know that you don't want this, but it's for the best. You've had so many changes, we just want you to be settled in before-"

"I'll be fine," Peter interrupted.

"Kiddo, it's literally just a few days," Tony reminded him. "And we'll spend time together as a family so you won't even notice." Peter glowered slightly. "And on Saturday, I promise I'll jiggle some of my meetings so I can join you on patrol." He added, knowing that Peter loved spending time training as iron man and spider-man. Peter took a moment to think, taking it all in.

"Fine," He huffed. "But I want to go out all day on Saturday and Sunday," Pepper and Tony looked at each other at this. Tony gave Pepper a slight nod.

"Okay honey, but as long as you've done all your homework," She told him. "We don't want your grades affected. Spider-man will be put on hold for a lot longer than a few days if your grades dip." Peter rolled his eyes at this.

"I know," He huffed, annoyed that they didn't trust him to organise when he'd do his homework himself.

"So is there a film you want to watch with us?" Tony asked and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Just because I can't go out as spider-man it doesn't mean that I'm gonna watch a movie with you guys," Peter told him. "I want to do some work in the lab. Or am I banned from that too?" He asked, annoyed. Pepper and Tony exchanged a look, not sure how to react to his attitude. He'd never acted like this before. They knew something had to be wrong for him to be behaving like this, but they had no idea what. Something to do with school, but they would get to the bottom of it, however much Peter didn't want to.

"Want any help?" Tony asked, hoping that Peter might open up whilst they were working together.

"I don't need a babysitter," Peter snarled, grabbing a couple of slices of pizza. "I don't want anymore." He said standing up and turning to go to the lab.

"Sit down," Pepper ordered quickly. "We eat together. We might have hectic lives, but unless it's absolutely unavoidable we have dinner together. That rule extends to you as well." He huffed at this but sat back down, munching on his pizza as he did.

"So what did you get up to at school?" Tony asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Stuff," Peter replied, not wanting to talk about school. "The usual boring stuff."

"Did you not have science?" Tony asked, surprised because he thought that he'd seen it listed as fourth when Peter got his timetable.

"Yeah," Peter shrugged. "But I do way more advanced stuff in the lab so I knew it all."

"Well at least your science grade will be high," Pepper said brightly.

"I guess," Peter sighed.

* * *

"What do you think is going on with Peter?" Pepper asked, rolling over to face Tony in bed. He sighed in response.

"I don't know," He told her. "He seemed a bit down when I picked him up, but he cheered up again when I took him out."

"It's probably to do with school," She sighed. "I wish he'd just talk to us."

"So do I," Tony said, wrapping an arm around Pepper and pulling their duvet over them. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to make him happier."

"You know you do the exact same thing," Pepper told him.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, flicking some hair off her face.

"You hate talking about your feelings," Pepper smiled sadly. "You didn't even tell me when you were dying because of palladium poisoning."

"I did try to-" Tony began but he was silenced by Pepper's glare.

"We've discussed this," Pepper reminded him. "You did not try properly. You know I'm right."

"You're always right," Tony smiled and Pepper laughed at that.

"I know," She smirked.


End file.
